


Tea for Three

by ShadowHaloedAngel



Series: Camellia sinensis [9]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Bruce is that kind of doctor, Engagement, Established Relationship, F/F, F/M, Found Family, Gen, M/M, New Arrivals, Orphans, Pregnancy, Tea, Team as Family, Twins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-29
Updated: 2016-11-12
Packaged: 2018-05-24 03:23:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 30,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6139746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowHaloedAngel/pseuds/ShadowHaloedAngel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce is that kind of doctor when it comes to his team. With all the dysfunction and confusion, a grounding voice and a little common sense, centred around tea. Sequel to Tea for Two, continuing where that one left off. Character focussed, dialogue driven, and all about the team.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Natasha

Bruce was humming to himself. He caught himself doing that a lot these days, and was starting to suspect that it might have something to do with how happy he was. It was the dominant emotion in his life now, happiness and excitement. There were still times when he was upset or frustrated or stressed, but... the knowledge that he would be a father, that a door he had thought so firmly closed that no force on this earth could have opened it was open for him now... it was a fundamental change in his life. He was glad, so glad, that Pepper had decided to wait to tell him until it had stuck. It wasn't guaranteed, even now, he knew that better than most but still. They were out of the first danger zone. 

They hadn't yet shared the news with the rest of the team, but the time would come. Until then he was still occupying his time mostly with research, though it was about equally divided with making lists and plans for the birth and afterwards, how he could take care of Pepper and their child. 

The year had started well enough, and actually it had been quiet thus far. There had been the odd incident but most of those hadn't required the attention of the whole team. For the most part he had been truly able to focus on his scientific research and that was so refreshing. Sometimes he had to answer a callout, particularly since Clint and Natasha were called away on missions. It was understandable with SHIELD still fighting the remains of Hydra and trying not to collapse from the inside out, but from what Phil and the others said, it was a battle they were winning. Bruce was gladder than most at that. Of course, nobody wanted Hydra to win, but most of them would at least have the solace of an eventual death whereas unless Thor found some way to offer him sanctuary in Asgard, Bruce was facing an eternity of slavery and torture. However well meaning and stable Hulk was at the moment it wouldn't last under those conditions and it would be like going mad twice. He couldn't face that. For the most part he tried not to think about it, but sometimes... well, it paid to be practical. 

There was a soft knock at the door and he glanced up. 

"Come in?"

It was nice, most people did wait for a response, but not all of them. He was pleased to see Natasha slip in, as silent as ever. She offered him the slightest quirk of her lips in greeting as he beamed and reached for the kettle. She moved smoothly, but he could tell she was exhausted. 

"Long flight?"

"Long mission. Long flight. All done now but I am glad it's over."

"I'm flattered that you chose to come and see me then."

"In truth I needed a chance to wind down from it. We know how to avoid and minimise jet lag but this is more complicated. I can work at full stretch for long periods but I need a chance to cool down before I can rest and recharge. If I go to bed now, I won't sleep, but after the last two weeks I can't face a needless visit to the gym. Besides, I quite enjoy your company though I'll deny it if you tell anyone I said that."

She smiled again and Bruce chuckled. He didn't take it personally, Natasha showed affection best by teasing. 

"Well, what do you think would best soothe you?"

"Ginger tea, honestly. I know it's not the most traditional of teas. In fact it's not proper tea it's herbal tea but I... it has many benefits, and I feel I could use most of them."

"In that case, I would be more than happy to oblige. Besides, I quite like it. It's that odd combination of energising and soothing."

"It tastes like fire and trickles down to warm you from the inside out leaving a feeling of peace in its wake." Natasha agreed, making herself comfortable on the couch. After a moment she slumped into it a little more, betraying how tired she was to an extent that Bruce was truly honoured to see.

"We agree on so many things, you and I. It's one of the reasons I'm so glad to have you as a team mate."

"Oh? And what are the others?"

"You are an amazingly talented woman? You're a great tactician for teams and individuals, you're patient, you're generous, you're an incredible fighter, a skilled linguist... and, quite frankly, I hesitate to resort to such crudeness but I would much rather have you inside the tent, pissing out, than the other way around. Quite apart from the many practical considerations, I actually quite like you."

Her smile was bright, and human. Bruce had seen (though fortunately not directed at him), the smile he thought of as shark-like. It was remarkable how someone who could look so soft and friendly could suddenly have far too many teeth. 

"I quite like you, I have to say. It's hard to adjust after decades of distrust and running, but you know that better than most. I feel like I have rather fallen on my feet, and I am, though I'm surprised to admit it, proud to be an Avenger. It's the opposite of what I was created to be in so many ways, and it's even different from what I do with SHIELD. I thought that was the opposite, that was rebellion, but this is a whole other level of different. This is the international stage, this is going public and having nothing to hide behind and fighting threats that my usual tactics don't work on. But it's having Clint at my back, and you and Tony on either side with Steve in front and Thor above. It's team breakfasts and team dinners and a private apartment that I know isn't monitored for signs of sedition. I am very lucky, far more than my wildest dreams. And in amongst all of that, with friendships and camaraderie and a real team, I've somehow found a partner who understands all of those things."

Her eyes flicked to him under lowered lashes as he handed her a red glass of steaming tea. She took a deep breath of it, letting it wash over her, fill her, calm her. 

"I... know a little of how that goes," Bruce offered with a shrug, "With Pepper... I had given up hope, so long ago, of being able to have a love like that, and now-"

"Now you have even more."

Her eyes were keen, and he blinked for a moment, then smiled.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you know."

"I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't know. I deal in information."

"Is that valuable information?"

"Not to anyone I'd be willing to sell it to. Don't worry, I promise I'll look suitably surprised when the announcement is made, and I won't tell anyone ahead of time. I am glad for you. It's a door that's... always been closed for me, and unlike this for you, it is not one that will ever reopen for a number of reasons. But I have made my peace with that, as with so many things." She sighed softly.

Bruce watched for a long moment, then reached out to squeeze her hand. She offered him a tired smile in silent thanks, and they both took a moment to concentrate on their tea. 

"But Darcy... I've had flings over the years. Friends with benefits, one night stands that I have chosen or at least believed that I have chosen. I have always found... women to be more fulfilling than men. I was never expected to work with women, but I don't know how much influence that has on the choices I make today. I see beauty in everyone, regardlesss of anything else. But I wouldn't have looked twice at her if she hadn't made the first move. She is young, she is innocent and naive, but beneath that there is a wicked sense of humour, a good heart, and a keen intellect. I wonder if maybe she is who I could have been if things had been different but I think there was always a little darkness in me. You could not survive in the USSR without a little darkness. Idealism is something that is easily crushed in the dark and the cold and the shadow of fear. But Darcy is wise beyond her years. She is patient, she is strong, and she shows care for the little things rather than getting caught up in the big things. She can control, at least for a time, her litte portion of the world and for her that is enough. And she does not get impatient or jealous when I have to work. She is independent. She pursues her own purposes and her own dreams... I am grateful for that. I could not be with someone who was dependent on me. I would be too aware constantly of letting them down but Darcy... we choose, all the time we choose to be together. And I feel that if one day one of chose a different path, we would part with no hard feelings. But for now, for every day, I count myself lucky."

Bruce smiled, soft as he watched her, listening. It was always a privilege to hear Natasha speak so freely, and he was gladder still that both of them seemed to benefiting from that relationship. He had a soft spot for Darcy. She reminded him of Tony in some ways, and he liked his lab partner a great deal, but she stood on her own two feet and had done so in the face of great unknowns and terrifying threats. There were those unkind souls who would say there was probably no greater threat than dating the Black Widow, but they were the ones who refused to see Natasha as human. 

"It seems, then, that not all those who wander are lost, but even for those who are lost it is possible to find a way home in the end?"

The smile she gifted him was enough reward in itself,warmer even than the heat of the ginger. 

"It seems so, Doctor. Congratulations, again. Please let Pepper know that I am happy to help with anything she needs. But she is more likely to get actual assistance from Darcy."

"I will let her know, thank you," Bruce smiled as Natasha drained her glass and set it down on the table, moving fluidly to her feet once more. 

"It was lovely to see you. I believe I will take a nap before dinner, but I hope to see you there?"

"You will. It should be good tonight. Thor's cooking."

"Ah. That means barbeque. I shall check that I have ingredients for a salad in my quarters."

Bruce chuckled as he ushered her to the door.

"If not, you're welcome to come back here. I'm sure I can come up with something," his eyes sparkled, "Take care, Natasha."

She returned the smile for a brief moment, with a nod. 

"I will, Doctor... and you?"

He nodded, and watched as she disappeared from sight. She had always had a way of fading into the foreground. It was an invaluable skill, and one that he had mastered to a lesser extent, but he preferred not to dwell on it where possible. After all, neither of them had anything to hide anymore.


	2. Clint and Tony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The baby on the way means that Bruce and Pepper both have something they want to ask their closest friends.

This was one of the rare occasions when Bruce knew exactly who he would find knocking on his door one afternoon. He had planned this meeting, in fact, he and Pepper had planned it together. And he was very glad of it too because the current publication he was working on was being recalcitrant to say the least and he was more than a little fed up with it. 

The knock on the door which broke his concentration was welcome, and he rubbed at his temples as he got up and crossed the room, trying to banish the ghost of it. 

It was Pepper first, as he had known it would be. She was on time for anything and everything, and he brushed a kiss to her cheek as she crossed the room to settle down. He regarded her fondly. Perhaps it was his imagination but he was already prepared to swear that she had that glow about her that pregnant women were reputed to have. He shook his head swiftly as if physically removing that thought. He was being ridiculous. But it was fun to be ridiculous sometimes. 

Tony was already coming along the corridor, so there was no point closing the door. Bruce smiled, welcoming, and Tony grinned in return. 

"So what is it that we've been summoned to? Some clandestine affair? I heard it's just me and Clint."

"And Pepper."

She waved at Tony from the couch, trying not to smile. It didn't do to encourage him but she did find him rather endearing despite herself. 

"Oh. And Pepper. Okay. This I know nothing about, then. I thought I was on safe ground assuming it was some kind of prank campaign against Reed Richards. Of course you would have been missing a trick not inviting Barnes. Guy has the best straight face and a wickeder sense of humour than Barton. Guess he honed it on Steve."

"You can come in, you know, you don't have to... keep rambling, or anything like that?"

Bruce was also trying not to laugh, but he wasn't doing as good a job of it as Pepper was. 

"Well, that's true, yes, but you know I don't have an off switch and you've had enough time to get used to that fact, besides which this is technically my house so-"

"Don't start pulling that card, Tony. That's not a fight you'll win. For all you know all the company assets have been transferred into my name and I've been too generous to let you find out yet."

Tony looked from Pepper to Bruce and back again, wearing his best betrayed expression. 

"You wouldn't..."

"No, I probably wouldn't, but don't you think it's better all round if we don't test that theory?"

"You may have a point..."

Tony settled himself into the arm chair, managing an air of nonchalance for a brief moment before he spoiled it, leaning forward like an excited child, even bouncing a little in place. 

"So what is this about? Tell me tell me tell me!"

"It needs to wait, you know our little powwow isn't complete yet."

"You can't include me in secret groups and not tell me anything about them!"

"Actually, we can, and we are." Bruce put the kettle on in preparation for the meeting, "I'm quite surprised you hadn't noticed that, actually."

"You're both terrible people and I don't know why I put up with either of you."

"Because we put up with you. That goes both ways."

There was a rustle in the ceiling and Bruce grinned. 

"There we go, Clint's here... are you coming down?" He called upwards, and there was another rustle.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes. You have to."

"Awwww...."

"I made cookies. Come down and you can have one. Besides I'm not having this conversation with a ceiling tile so you really need to be either present, or not in on this at all."

A few more rustles and thumps, and Clint made himself comfortable on Bruce's furniture. Bruce watched for a moment, and then decided not to comment about the approach most people took to sitting on sofas. Clint wasn't most people, and never had been.

"I was promised cookies."

Bruce rolled his eyes and handed over the tin. Tony and Clint fell on it together with terrifying enthusiasm. 

He made a pot of tea, poured it carefully, and handed round the glasses, setting the pot in the middle of the little coffee table. 

"So wha- ifth thith abou?" Clint asked, and Bruce sighed inwardly as crumbs were sprayed everywhere. He was smiling though. He had never been able to hold any childish excitement against Clint. Besides, Tony wasn't much better. 

"We have something we need to tell you both... it's very important to us and... we hope it'll be important to you too. It's something that we want to share with you, and that's why... that's why we're telling you first." Bruce squeezed Pepper's hand. 

Clint perked up, halfway through another cookie. 

"Wait fo doef thifth mean I'll know fomething befthore Taftha?"

Pepper and Bruce exchanged a glance, and his face fell. 

"... She knows, doesn't she."

"We didn't tell her."

"No but you don't need to tell her, there's just..." Clint waved his hands expressively, "She has ways. Magic or something. Ways. I don't even know. She's like a demon. Or a ninja. A demon ninja. She always knows everything about everyone even before they know and it's not fair. I was hoping for a second that this might have been the first time I'd have something on her, but..." he sighed dramatically, "No cigar, I guess."

Pepper was trying not to laugh, albeit without much success. Bruce's eyes danced too. 

"Not this time, I'm sorry. We'll try to manage it next time okay?"

"Okay, I'll accept that as a compromise." Clint shifted forwards, propping his chin in his hands and grinning, eager for information and obviously not planning to let anything go before he found out what was going on. 

Tony was trying to look bored. He wasn't having much success either. 

"So... I mean, I'm a busy guy, y'know?"

Bruce finally gave in to the laughter. He shook his head and poured the tea, distributing it. 

"I think it's for Pepper to say, really."

"I... I'm having a baby..." she smiled, it was, to Bruce's eyes, the most beautiful and delicate smile in the world. It was perfect. She was perfect. He wanted, more than anything, for her to know that she was perfect. 

Clint and Tony had matching expressions of incredulity and Bruce was seized by an almost irrepressible urge to try throwing something into their mouths. It was something about the o-shape. It was very inviting. He'd never quite understood that before, but the news of their expanding family had brought his mischevious side to the forefront. It had been a long time since he'd felt this playful, but being here with these people brought the best out in him. 

The torrent of words that came next was difficult to separate as a mingling of congratulations and questions. 

"So wait why are you telling us?!"

"Well..." it was Bruce who started this time, "We were thinking... hoping, we would like you both to be the godparents. Her godparents. We would like you to be her godparents. We're not sure who else we might ask, but you two were the first we thought of. Clint, you're my brother, and Tony... Pepper feels the same way about you. You're going to be her uncles either way but we thought maybe you might like something... even more official?"

"YES!!!"

The answer was shouted in unison and Bruce couldn't help but laugh again. 

Clint was the first one to move, launching himself at Bruce, wrapping his arms around him and clinging on like a koala, hugging tight, tears in his eyes and on his cheeks.

"You- You really- You're gonna... fuck you're gonna trust me with your kid, fuck I never even dreamed... fuck I said fuck..."

Bruce hugged him tight, trying to cut him off before he got into a spiral of swearing at himself for having cussed in the first place. 

Tony was a little more hesitant, swallowing as he stared mutely at Pepper, eyes wide. 

"You... uh... are you sure this is a good idea?"

Pepper smiled and nodded, looking him in the eye. 

"Yes. I am. I'm very sure. So's Bruce. We both talked a lot about this and we knew there was nobody else we could ask but the two of you."

"You know I'm not... good with kids, right? I don't wanna fuck this up. Kids are way too important to be left near me."

"No. Tony, your father was not good with kids. You are good with kids. I've seen you. I know you don't trust yourself but at charity events and stuff, you are fantastic with the kids, and actually your relationship with Dummy and You and Butterfingers is pretty parental at times. You are good with kids, and we both believe in you. Our daughter could do much, much worse than having the both of you on her side." 

Pepper spoke softly, but she wanted him to know that she meant every word. It was difficult to get through when emotions were running so high. Children were a sensitive subject for so many people in the tower, but for Tony and Clint it was very close to the bone. That was part of why they'd wanted to make the gesture, the deliberate invitation to both of them that they were wanted to be a part of the child's life. Pepper was sure that both of them would be fantastic, even if they themselves weren't ready to accept that quite yet. 

Clint had sat back to listen too, and he was looking between Bruce and Pepper both. 

"Sounds like you really have talked about this, huh?"

"Yes, we have." Bruce smiled, squeezing Pepper's hand and looking his brother in the eye. 

"We really are sure. If you'll both accept?" Pepper smiled. 

"....Well yeah I guess..." Tony ran a finger around his collar, not making eye contact, a flush high on his cheeks. His eyes were gleaming though, and Bruce was very familiar with Tony's signs of suppresse excitement. 

"Hell yes! Just... the thing is... does being godparent mean if something happens to you we're responsible for her?"

"Yes, at least in theory."

Clint swallowed, and nodded, looking solemnly between them. 

"I promise she'll be safe. I'll have Phil, anyway. I don't know what I'm doing but Phil does and I... I promise, that no matter what, we'll make sure she's safe."

Bruce smiled and nodded, voice soft and warm as he replied.

"We know."

Tony cleared his throat and sat forward.

"So, now that we've got the mushy part over, let's get onto the vital question at hand here - what are you going to name her?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, I'm cutting it very fine! But this one is actually still March (by about 40 minutes) and so it's fine. The last month has been immensely stressful with my schoolwork, and there have been times when it's felt almost impossible. But I've made it and got through it and I've finished this for you. I'm rewarding you for all your support and patience with a double bill chapter. I hope you enjoy it!


	3. Phil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil has a busy life but when he can make time to relax, Bruce is one of the people he seeks out.

The weather was finally starting to warm up a little. Spring was a beautiful season, even in New York, and Bruce appreciated being able to watch everything come to life around them. Things started to feel alive around about now, and it brightened up The clocks changing made a difference too, and whatever he made of Easter it was something to look forward to after Christmas. 

There was a lot going on in the tower too, so much so that it hardly felt like there had been a slow down over winter, but nevertheless things were picking up still further now. SHIELD had made some vital gains against HYDRA, at least that's what Phil would let them know in passing. Bruce wasn't so sure that Phil could tell them much more than that, or that he would anyway. Except that Steve and Bucky both had a vested interest in knowing how things were going and Bruce was fairly sure that even if he wasn't supposed to tell them anything officially, there was very little he would keep from the two super soldiers. 

Clint and Natasha were still very busy and sometimes other people made passing visits, but on the whole the tower didn't change. He was glad of that. The consistency of it all was nice, and this motley group of people did feel like family. He hadn't ever thought it could be like this, but it worked for them and that was the important thing. Besides, he had been reunited with his brother and that was the best thing of all.

Phil had already sent a message via Jarvis to ask whether Bruce would be free for tea that afternoon and of course Bruce had replied in the affirmative. He didn't have anything else planned and he rather prided himself on always being available to his friends when they needed him. They didn't abuse that, and that was what made the relationship sustainable, but he hadn't seen Phil in quite some time and he knew how taxing work was at the moment. Besides, Bruce always welcomed the chance to spend time with the man his brother had chosen, and who had proposed to him (to nobody's surprise except Clint's).

He had been expecting the knock on the door, and he answered it gladly with a welcoming smile. Phil wasn't looking at his best, but Bruce refrained from commenting at the moment. He was fairly certain that Phil would be aware that he didn't look his best and would find the attention unwelcome. Pepper had pointed out to him on several occasions (though never, fortunately, directed at him) that being told that one looked tired was seldom helpful. Among women it rather tended to be a veiled insult, and while Bruce would never use it that way he tended to err on the side of caution in what he said to people anyway. The problem with being a doctor was that your opinions on the wellbeing of others were rarely welcome unless they were actively sought. 

"Thank you... I'm glad you didn't have plans, I've been meaning to get back and see you anyway but we've been so busy going in and out that I just... I've barely had time for anything at all. It's nothing personal."

"You should always try to make time for yourself, even if it's ten minutes of calm in a hectic day, it's those little oases that build up your defences to deal with the rest of the stress."

Bruce smiled softly and pushed the tea case in Phil's direction. 

"Might I suggest something with less caffeine in it? I suspect you consume more than enough in the course of your normal work and I don't think you need to be striving to be awake at the moment. Quite the opposite, in fact. Will you be with us long enough to get a good night's sleep? And perhaps recover from the jet lag?"

"I don't get jet lag very often anymore. I've had a lot of practice at mastering the art of minimising it. I know what I need to do when, what I need to eat when, what I need to drink when, to mean that I'm pretty much functional all the time, at least enough to get the job done. I'd be lying if I said the last... what, six weeks? Hadn't taken their toll though. We're definitely getting there but I can see where Hydra's slogan comes from. We're managing to cut off the heads at enough of a rate that there aren't two more taking the place of each one anymore but they are springing up all over the place and it's hard to pin them down. We're trying to take prisoners where we can, free prisoners where we find them and get them into rehabilitation programs which isn't easy given that a lot of them seem to have been experimented on... the tech we're finding is worrying. I mean, Tony's dealing with some of it now and he's been consulting while we've been in the field, but it's some truly nasty stuff. And I'm trying to hold together my team. We're doing pretty well, we are. Ward's really turned his life around, and without him we wouldn't be winning this war because it would have overtaken us before we even knew there was an enemy to be fighting, but... we're all harried, we're all tired, and I'm hoping that this rest isn't going to be cut short like the last one..."

Bruce nodded, eyes on Phil, engaged, listening to what was being said. He took a moment to consider his next words, wanting to show that he had been actively listening the whole time, rather than focussing on what he himself was planning to say next. 

"...Might I suggest some tea with cammomile? I think there's a cammomile and spiced apple one in there, and although that might sound more fall-like I think you need something a little homely. And if it works and knocks you out there are worse places to sleep than my couch for a couple of hours. I'll wake you in time for dinner." Bruce smiled and began to make the tea, then glanced up with suddenly sharp eyes, "I assume Clint knows you're here?"

"Of course he knows... he's always the first person to know. Well the second person, probably because sometimes I think Natasha monitors our comms-"

"She only does that because she's worried about you!" Bruce grinned, and Phil laughed. 

"So yes, he knows. But that's part of why I want this rest to be a proper rest, an extended rest. I haven't had the chance to spend proper time with him since Christmas and New Year and that's becaue we're both such vital players in this fight that they're moving us around but I don't like it and I miss him. And I proposed to him, and I meant every word of it. I did, I truly did mean it, and I want to get married to him. But I refuse to give him anything less than he deserves on that front and right now I'm not getting the time I need to give him what he does deserve. I know him, and I love him, but I'm not getting to share in the nitty gritty or the every day and we try to keep each other in the loop about that because we know how much it matters, but it doesn't come naturally to keep telling someone who's in a different timezone what cereal you had for breakfast. There's a gulf that'll open there if we're not careful and I just... I miss being able to cuddle up with him, I miss his laugh and the light in his eyes when he looks at me and I miss watching him shoot and I miss his arms...."

Bruce pushed the glass of tea across the coffee table to Phil with a warm smile, letting him ramble. He never had a problem listening to people say good things about his brother, and everything Phil was saying made Bruce even surer that Phil was the right man for this. If ever anyone could be worthy of Clint, it would be Phil. He had worked hard at it, and more importantly, he had chosen Clint after knowing him, really knowing him, for a long time. Phil had known Clint before he chose him, rather than choosing and discovering that what he had chosen wasn't the package he thought he had signed up for. 

"You're completely gone for him, aren't you."

"I am. I have been for years. I was in denial about it before anything even happened between us. Natasha was running a betting pool. It was so embarrassing. But it's worked out in the end and I just... I want to be good enough for him. He thinks he can afford to have low standards but we both know that even if he had low standards for himself, what he actually deserves is so much better."

"And this is why I'm perfectly okay with the two of you getting married. You know him, and you love him. The real him. You don't want the agent or the superhero, you want the guy who struggles through his paperwork to prove he can, who eats bad food and laughs too loud and sings just off key enough to be annoying and who'll curl up in your lap, wrapped in his own merchandise that people gave him as gag gifts, and watch your crappy reality shows with you. That's who you're marrying. And that's why I think you're good enough for my brother and everything you've just said has confirmed that suspicion for me."

"That is.... such a relief. I still... I don't know. Your approval means a lot to me, because Natasha.... Natasha always knew and would have made it clear if she didn't think it was right. But you are the closest Clint has to family. And you have been for a logn time, even when he thought he might never see you again. It's... I am just relieved that you're willing to give us your blessing."

"I am," Bruce agreed warmly, "I always have been, since I arrived here I've been willing because I've been able to see the relationship between the two of you, to understand how it works and what you give him. I didn't know if I'd ever see Clint again and although I hoped to find him happy if I did, I knew it wasn't likely. You and this.... you're not what I would have expected because I didn't dream in ways that encompassed this kind of life when I was younger. But despite that, I think it's perfect for the man he is now. The man he's become. And a lot of that change, those good changes, they're down to you. He talks a lot about you. Not exclusively, he talks about a lot of things and I have to sift through the information, besides, we had a lot to catch up on. But he does talk about you a lot. I enjoy hearing it. I've always paid more attention to how people say things than what they're saying. I often concentrate on both, of course, because I'm well aware of how that particular tendency can be manipulated. But it pays off, particularly if you're dealing with people whose language you don't speak yet. So when Clint talked, in the early days especially, I was far more interested in how he said things than the words because he can lie with his mouth but to me, to his big brother? He can't lie with his tone. He can't lie with his body or his eyes. Not to me. I've been reading that language for a long time and when I cracked it it was written a lot smaller. He's learned to hide it over the years but he trusts me and he forgets. I think it would take something big to bring the shields up again in front of me, so that's something else I watch for because he doesn't ask for help. He's proud and he thinks he can handle things. It's not always the case. I understand why he tries, but I wish he wouldn't."

"He's not used to a team this big," Phil shrugged as if the answer was the simplest thing in the world, "He's not used to a team this big and a team that feels like family. It took years to get him adjusted to something resembling the military kind of life we lead at SHIELD, and this is a big change. It's been in place a while, obviously, but... well. I don't think it would work so well for him if you weren't on the team. If it wasn't comprised mostly of people he knew. He knew Natasha, he knew me, he knew Tony. He knew you, even if he didn't expect you or think you'd remember him. All of those things meant that he was willing to be a part of it even though in his mind it meant putting himself up for constant comparison to my hero, and what happened with Loki could have destroyed all of that except for how you all rallied round him. You treat him as an equal, even though he feels he's not."

"He is." Bruce replied firmly, and Phil sighed and nodded, 

"He is. But I don't think he'll ever really believe that."

"I know..." Bruce replied quietly, and finished the last dregs of his glass. "May I offer you some more tea?"

Phil made a regretful sort of noise and shook his head, making to stand. 

"I'd better not... I do thank you for that one though, it was delicious. And thank you for your time, as well. I know you say your door is always open and you welcome visitors and conversation and I understand how it can be to feel like you have a purpose again, a role in others lives that makes you indispensible. And you are indispensible. But I think Clint should be around now, and I have missed him so much. As it is I'll probably never hear the end of it for coming to see you first."

Bruce laughed and took Phil's glass too, setting both down carefully by the sink. 

"No, I can see that. Have a good time with him. Enjoy the chance to just be together for a while before Natasha also joins you. And I'll see you at dinner?"

"You will. Thank you again."

Bruce nodded and watched Phil leave with a hand raised in farewell before he moved to clean up the tea things. He liked Phil a great deal, and he would always appreciate the courtesy with which the man treated him. He had respect for him, and Bruce had gone a long time without respect and without expecting it from men like Phil Coulson. But Phil was his team leader, his friend, and would soon enough be his brother in law, and Bruce was starting to think that he would be quite okay with that. After all, it had been a long time coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the April chapter wasn't in April and my publication schedule this year has been a bit poor. I know I mentioned a potential one shot that hasn't appeared yet. I'm going to plan a few more chapters out and see if I can fit in a oneshot or two so I know where I'm going with this which will make life easier. I am so glad that you're all still enjoying it and sticking with it. I'm delighted to have expanded this into a universe and to have so many loyal readers. You're all wonderful.
> 
> I know you're probably tired of excuses, but I'm not offering one this time, rather an explanation. Just over a week ago my relationship of over three and a half years duration ended, and I have to say I've found doing the things that I need to get done quite hard since then. I hope you can forgive me being late again, and I promise that I will try to do better in future.


	4. Steve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The world has changed, and there are a lot of things to adjust to which is hard enough without fighting a war you were never trained for.

The days were continuing to grow longer, and the summer was stretching out in front of them with the promise of hot days, humidity and thunderstorms. Bruce found that his passion for tea wasn't diminished at these times but it was still hard to find something that didn't exacerbate the heat problem. Of course, the tower was air conditioned, and he did take advantage of that but he tried to minimise his use all the same. It felt futile given the number of people who blasted the air con like they were more comfortable in an arctic environment, but it was his little contribution towards the benefit of the planet. He didn't keep it as cold, he opened windows where he could, and he tried to use less energy particularly at this time of year when the days were longer and so it was less necessary to use electric light. He was still looking forward to autumn when things cooled down and he could always feel something special in the air. 

He was settled in the living area of his apartment, a pot of 'sunshine' tea at his elbow. It was refreshing and easy to drink, besides which he felt it was appropriate for the weather. There was a deadline coming up for submission to a journal and so he was reading over a hard copy of his paper, trying to identify any last minute errors or improvements he could make to it. 

The knock at the door this time was more tentative, and it took a moment before he realised he'd heard the sound at all. It happened when he was very focussed that sometimes things were slow to percolate. Fortunately people tended to be very understanding, though Bruce sometimes suspected that was because the people he dealt with were also used to Tony, who occasionally functioned on a much more restricted basis when he was particularly absorbed in a project and/or short on sleep (of course, these two things often coincided). 

He took a moment to mark in the margin where he'd read to and went to answer the door. He wasn't entirely sure who it could be. Steve was his first thought, but it had been quieter even than Steve's usual knock. Perhaps Bucky, or Jane if she was in town. He wouldn't have been surprised for Darcy to knock quietly either. 

Steve was indeed the one standing there when Bruce opened the door, and he proffered a box from a particularly good bakery. 

"Um... hey... I went for a run and I... brought you this."

Bruce took the box with a smile.

"Thank you, that's very kind..." It was, of course, but he could tell an excuse when he encountered one. There was something bothering Steve, it was easy enough to read that, and it was concerning. Of course there was a lot of pressure on the man, there had been for a long time but it was hard to wake up in a world you barely recognised to realise you had become a myth in your absence. 

"Would you like to come in maybe? If there's enough to share I'll gladly share."

"Oh! Thanks, that's very kind..."

Steve followed him in, on his heels as Bruce moved into the open plan kitchen to set the box down on the counter and investigate its contents. He seemed to be following like a lost dog with no idea where to go or what to do on his own. 

There were indeed two very generous portions of cheesecake in the box and Bruce had no hesitation in serving each of them onto plates and passing Steve a fork. 

"C'mon, let's go sit and eat this in comfort. It's good to see you. I know you've been pretty busy lately."

"Yeah, though things are quieting down I hope.... Hydra's finally... well the numbers we know of are dropping but we're a little concerned that they're just going underground. Not that I don't trust the guys we've got who are monitoring for that sort of thing but it's a concern, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't. There have been a lot of fundraisers and stuff lately too. They can be a little bit of a strain. I mean don't get me wrong I'm glad that we haven't been working so much lately, not that I don't love the team, but it's nice to be able to do more normal things it's just...."

"You haven't had much time to just be able to do normal things?" Bruce hazarded, and Steve nodded. 

"It's... it's good that it's quiet and it's nice that the heat is apparently putting everyone else off just as much. We don't want to fight in it but neither do they and I think it does work out. But I don't know. There's a lot of time to think when it's quiet and I'm not always sure that's a good thing."

"I suppose if there's a lot to think about then having too much time is more of a curse than a blessing." Bruce agreed with a smile, reaching for the teapot. "May I pour you some?"

"Please?" Steve ran a distracted hand back through his hair, then sniffed "What is it? It smells nice..."

"It's one I picked up on my travels. I got it in Tallinn, which is in Estonia. The name translates to Sunshine tea. It's green tea with dandelion and lemon grass."

"That does sound nice. That explains the... it smells citrusy. But it smells good!" Steve hesitated for a moment then glanced sideways at Bruce, "Please tell me you don't speak Estonian too?"

Bruce laughed and shook his head, "No, I got it translated while I was over there because it was nice and I was curious."

"That makes sense." Steve's smile was relieved and Bruce chuckled again as he poured the tea, sliding Steve's glass over to him. 

The man took a deep breath, letting the scent wash over him. It was a habit he'd picked up from all these little talks with Bruce. He tried not to come too often, wary of making an inconvenience of himself, but he could understand why the tea meant so much to Bruce. There was so much that went into it, so many different kinds, and in order to brew it to the best possible result, you had to take time and care over it. Modern life was full of things that didn't work like that, that were rushed and careless and sloppy and although he was getting used to it sometimes it was hard to cope with. Tea was something peaceful and deliberate, and then making the conscious decision to sit and drink it and enjoy it was also something that took time.

It wasn't something he felt confident enough with to try himself really, but he appreciated it about Bruce. Whatever they talked about it was a moment of peace, and Steve had come to really treasure those moments. 

"Is there anything in particular you're thinking about? Or is it just more general thinking?"

Steve took a moment to think about that, trying to gather the thoughts which had been swirling like a vortex in his mind for so long now. 

"I... don't know. It's hard, I suppose. I'm adjusting more to how life is now and it's.... although it's very different, I went from one normal to a new normal and it's... well, the transition from SHIELD to the Avengers was the hardest part but... fast change is easier to deal with than slow change. In some ways anyway. I have a lot to think about on that front. But it's more... this war we're fighting now... I don't even know if I can call it a war but that's what it feels like. But it's different. It's not... it's not what I'm used to, it's not what I think of war as being, and I'm a soldier. That... I mean okay it's not /my/ identity, but that's who Captain America is, I mean, it's right there in the goddamn title, and okay I'm not... Captain America, I'm Captain Steve Rogers, but I'm still a captain. It's... a title, and it's a job and in some ways it was a life, is a life still, but it's not... everything I am. I'm more than a soldier. But I don't know if I'm comfortable with what that means anymore. I don't know if I'm... things were simpler. And I've done some research on what happened after I crashed, when I went out of the world, because I needed to understand what had happened in between to give me some kind of context for the world I'm living in now, and fortunately I love learning so it wasn't a chore for me to do that. But what happened... I don't know how to deal with it." 

"I don't know how to deal with how we ended the war, with what happened in Korea, with what happened in Vietnam. I wanted to be a good guy, and back then... being a good guy was simple. I was fighting against ideas I thought were wrong and sometimes I still do that now though I don't do it with weapons so much as I do it with words. And I never stopped to think back then about how the guys I was fighting were doing the same thing I was, or the same thing the rest of the Howlies were. They were fighting, sometimes because of ideas, but sometimes because they were made to, because it was a job and they needed a job, for all sorts of reasons. There would have been guys there who didn't believe in what they were doing. That doesn't mean... I mean I know the big line at the trials after was just following orders, and I know it's not that simple. It's not that simple for any soldier, even though following orders is what you're meant to do. You don't question them, but if you notice a pattern that's broken then you can still speak up and fix it. And I don't... people didn't do that, and I can understand why. There was pushback, there were consequences, maybe they had families they needed to keep safe and that was the option they were given to do it. I don't know." 

"But then I woke up in this brave new world and things had changed and I've done my best to adjust, and I fought with SHIELD. I worked with SHIELD to find bad guys and stop them for the same reasons. And along the way I will have killed innocent people and that wasn't in war where it... it's not that it doesn't count, but among combatants the rules don't work like that. And I never brought civilians into it, never, but now... it's organisations, not nations, and it's choice, and it's not choice all at the same time. And then I find that SHIELD was infiltrated to the highest level by people who believe the ideas I dedicated my whole life to fighting, by people who I literally died to stop... I laid my life down once, it's not something that you expect to do more than once. Hell I wasn't expecting to do it the first time it just kind of happened. And I'm starting to wonder what it really means to be Captain America. When I started off it was a mantle I was proud of and the shield felt like it weighed nothing at all and now every time I suit up it's like I can feel it on my shoulders, the weight of all those lives, all those mistakes, the people I didn't save, couldn't save, the people caught in the cross fire or who were in the wrong place at the wrong time or didn't want to be doing what they were doing. To a certain extent you can boil it down to if I didn't kill them they would have killed me, but I... there's only so far that goes, as a plaster to put over the wound, you know? I've fought against bullies and some bullies were so big that death was the only way to stop them but I'm not so sure anymore. I'm not so sure. And I'm finding it hard to deal with those things. I'm thinking about it all the time and it's disturbing my sleep and how... there's no magic bullet to make those things go away, doc. There just isn't."

"No, there isn't." Bruce agreed, quiet but firm. "I would be doing you a disservice if I told you there was. That's a lot of thinking you've been doing on your own there, how long has all of that been building up behind that dam?"

Steve glanced away, tracing a pattern in the tea. It had cooled a little but it still felt scalding on his finger. He didn't care all that much. 

"I don't know. Maybe since I woke up. Maybe since New York. It's not a simple thing, there's no one event I can put my finger on and say 'this is when I started having doubts'. I think part of it was... I love Tony. I do. I really do. The man he is... is amazing. Breathtaking. It's a privilege to share in his life and be able to see that spark he has which isn't like anyone else in the entire world. But I didn't understand, when I woke up, when we met, why his reaction was so... I mean I wasn't expecting a parade, I wasn't even expecting to wake up. For a long time at the beginning I wished I hadn't woken up. That I hadn't been found, that I'd been left to die, or at least to sleep there. I thought about it more than a few times but I was never really left alone enough to get any real idea. Besides, there aren't many routes open to me."

"I know how that goes."

Steve glanced up, his eyes sharp, but his expression was softened by the briefest twist of a smile that didn't lighten his eyes. It did ease the mood a little though. 

"Yeah. I guess you do. I remember you saying. I wasn't expecting that. That was something else that took me by surprise. All of this stuff is stuff guys didn't talk about. In my experience, it just... you didn't talk about it, nobody did, but especially not men. I'm glad that's changing. I don't think it's changing fast enough but I'm glad it's changing."

"Bear in mind that Tony's reaction was... atypical."

That actually drew a brief chuckle, and Bruce smiled. They both knew it was true. They could know it was true while loving Tony dearly. His father had given him a lot of issues, but the complex ones around Captain America were a whole different ball game. 

"Yes, it was. And in a way that hit me too. Here was Howard Stark's son. And I mean, it's not like I had the best relationship with his father," Steve pulled a face, "But I could respect his work even if I didn't respect the man. I knew nothing about Tony except what I'd been told and everything painted the picture of a man who was Howard's son and it was... difficult to be treated like that. And in SHIELD... it's not military but it's not that different. The attitude to the general public... it's getting to be pretty amazing and it's not uniform across the country but there's no follow through, no support... I remember... when I was doing my research there was a thing I heard about... what happened in Britain after the war? I... don't know where Jarvis found it. It came up when I was trying to trace the Howlies and what had happened to them. 'They promised us homes fit for heroes, they give us heroes fit for homes' but then the homes never come and the help never comes and I'm... honoured as a veteran but it ignores all the people who've served in conflict messier and more complicated and in some ways more brutal than what I did. I mean, you can't really compare them. But at least there were... sides. There were rules, there was clarity and the troops these days don't have that. And when I enlisted, when I grew up, being a soldier was an honourable thing and people respected it and that being so different made me... question this country and this time I was living in until I began to understand where that distrust came from. It didn't make it that much easier but it did make it not personal."

"Sometimes you have to take the little things like that where you can get them. The same way the smallest snowflake can cause an avalanche, the smallest ray of sunshine can be the thing that keeps you going. It's strange, but I've come to realise the thing, the choice you make that keeps you alive, can be based on the smallest, most random thing. You want to see the season finale of a show you're watching. You need to feed your dog. You realise there's a song you'll never hear again."

Steve nodded slowly, "I guess you're right. And you know... about... finding a place. But no offence, your identity was rewritten sure but it didn't involve an entire change in the social fabric that you were familiar with."

"No, it didn't." Bruce agreed quietly. There was nothing he could say on that front that wouldn't be self serving and trite. Steve didn't need that. What Bruce was pretty sure he needed more than anything else was to be able to talk like this. "I know this has been bothering you for a while but has it been worse lately? I know the fight against Hydra has been pretty rough on everyone."

"It has. I mean I don't get affected as badly as some, I have stamina that others don't have, but I... it's rough."

"Do you think your behaviour has changed? With all this on your mind, with your reluctance to put on the suit, with the way the fight's been going... I know you've been here a pretty good amount but..."

"I don't know. I guess maybe?" Steve shrugged, "It's hard for me to comment on it because I'm on the inside looking out and it's people on the outside who can make that kind of call."

"I just ask because... this is the kind of thing that can depress anyone. It can tie you up in knots inside, it can make you feel so sick you don't want to eat, it can stop you sleeping, it can push you to extremes so you're tired enough to sleep, it can make you irritable and it can make you withdraw."

"Sounds like me when I first woke up before the initiative came along..." Steve attempted a smile, but Bruce's expression was serious. 

"I'm not trying to deflect the focus here but... you have a partner now, someone who loves you and someone who, through no fault of your own or his own, has a lot of issues around intimacy and affection, and the person you were believed to be by so many for so long, the person you are when you put the suit on. If there is a chance that all this stuff has affected your behaviour which I think is possible and which would be a totally legitimate consequence of feeling this mixed up... then maybe make a special effort with Tony for a while? If you think you have it in you? I don't mean big romantic dates, just little gestures which would keep the connection alive, and which might help both of you. I think feeling connected to someone, anyone, would benefit you a lot."

"It's... well I guess I have been feeling like I'm drifting lately..." Steve agreed reluctantly. "Thanks. I'll do that. I'd hate to hurt him, no matter how badly I'm doing right now. And you're right."

"It's surprising how easy it is to trick your emotions by acting. If you smile even when you don't feel like smiling it can improve your mood. The mind and the body are closely linked. I'm not encouraging you to act in any big way because Tony's a good enough actor who's dealt with enough people lying to him that he can read it and it would probably exacerbate any damage that might have already happened. But smile, and hug him, and kiss him, and act interested in what is happening with him and see if there's an improvement for you in how you feel about him and the world. And see if it changes anything with him."

"Is that a prescription?"

"No, just a suggestion from a friend, hoping to benefit the wellbeing of two other friends he's worried about." Bruce answered with a smile, happy to respond to the gentle teasing. Steve joked when he was nervous sometimes, they all did. Bruce knew that method of distraction very well indeed but he was happy to play along sometimes, especially when there was no risk of damage arising from not taking something seriously. 

"You both love each other very much, you draw a lot of strength from each other. If your relationship is suffering then strengthening that bond might help some other things resolve themselves and fall into place. But I think it's also important to remember, when it comes to trying to resolve your dichotomy of identity... there are a couple of things. Tony chose his identity, he made it himself, yours was manufactured for you and you were pushed into the spotlight and you had no control over who or what Captain America became when you first arrived, or what happened to make that mythology change after you died. But the Captain America that was manufactured originally was nothing compared to the Captain America you became. That was the real hero, and that Captain America, that real Captain America in as much as there is one, was entirely created by you and couldn't exist without you. That myth is based on you, Steve Rogers, and there's an awful lot of good that they could draw on for that character. That's all intrinsically you. It might not always feel like it but there is by definition a lot of you in him. If it hadn't been you there might still have been a Captain America but they would have looked very different and done very different things."

"The other thing is that... when you're having this sort of crisis it's important to know yourself, value yourself and decide whether or not you trust yourself and your judgement. If you do, then that can be a very powerful thing, it can outweigh an awful lot. You make your decisions and your judgement calls based on the best information which is available to you at the time. Sometimes it turns out that those calls were wrong, mistakes were made, in the split second judgement you picked the wrong path. You're human, not superhuman. You may be meta-human, but the physical enhancements don't change your intrinsic humanity. The serum magnified everything you were and that is why they picked you because of the good parts and the moral compass that were intrinsic to Steve Rogers and still are. You have to trust yourself to do the best you can, take responsibility for your mistakes and take steps to make sure they are unrepeatable. But you have always done the best you can and sometimes...." Bruce shrugged helplessly, "Sometimes that has to be enough. It just has to be."

"But how do you square that stuff with... how do you square who you are with you want to be?" Steve asked, sitting forward a little as if he believed Bruce really had the answers, "I thought... when I was younger, the frustration was not having the physical ability to live up to the person I wanted to be, and that was what was stopping me. Though Bucky would probably tell you it didn't stop me enough. And then that problem was resolved and the fights in front of me were easy and clear. I mean, it wasn't black and white but the end goal was simple. I could deal with that and I could block out the bad when it wasn't so bad. Even then I paid more attention to the little people than most of the soldiers I fought alongside. It was a habit they soon got used to. I'd like to think it rubbed off on some of them but I don't know."

"It did," Bruce smiled, "When they got back... the rest of the Howlies, a lot of them did stuff like that. You would have been proud. I think that was what they wanted. To make you proud. None of them mentioned Captain America, but I think there might be some Steve Rogers grants floating around in places. People remembered you, and they wanted to learn from you and do better because of you."

"That's.... that's all I... more than I ever dreamed of." Steve's voice cracked a little, and Bruce tactfully decided not to mention it. "Since then though, since I woke up... I don't know who I am anymore but I don't think it's who I want to be and I don't know how to go about... squaring that. I don't know if there's a place in the world for the person I was, or the person I wanted to be before. And I don't know how to change it."

"I guess... the simplest thing is just... to accept that you're not. If you know where you want to be, start making decisions that will take you in that direction, making choices, taking paths that take you closer to where you want to be. And if the path seems to start off in the right direction but it curves around and you find yourself in a place where you don't want to be there's no shame in backtracking and trying a different way. Making bad choices or making mistakes doesn't make you a bad person. Sometimes you're in a situation where there is no good decision to make and that's just life. It sucks, but that's how it goes." He glanced up from under his lashes with a small, self deprecating little smile, "I hope you weren't expecting words of wisdom, because I'm afraid that's all I've got..."

That raised the most genuine smile he'd seen all afternoon and Bruce felt himself relax a little. Steve shrugged. 

"Well, I guess we can't all be paragons of human virtue."

Bruce laughed, loud, too loud maybe, but freely. Steve laughed along with him and the two of them took a couple of minutes before they could speak again. 

"I guess we can't..." Bruce drained his tea and set the glass down. 

Steve glanced at his own drink and flushed a little. 

"I'm sorry, I let mine get cold. Not that it wasn't delicious. I just..."

"You had a lot you needed to say and it was a convenient excuse to talk, it's all right, I understand."

The gratitude in his smile was more than enough as far as Bruce was concerned. 

"Do you feel any better about things now?"

Steve nodded rapidly. 

"I do, a lot better, thank you. I really... I really do appreciate that. I didn't know... I didn't know who to talk to, or even if I could. I know my situation is unique but... so is yours and I thought in a way... you've always been so good at listening." He finished lamely, and Bruce smiled, trying to offer silent reassurance. 

"That's all I want. So for it to work, that's thanks enough for me. I'm glad you're feeling better about things. You're welcome to stay longer if you want but I understand if you have other plans..."

Steve jumped to his feet, eager as a school boy all of a sudden, and grinning as widely. 

"I didn't before, but I think I'm going to. I've got to go and see a man about a bot. You were right, it's been too long since I last spent real time with Tony. I should fix that. I should talk to him. He deserves an explanation. It's about the only thing that might convince him that anything that's been up between us lately has been on me, not him. And besides, we usually end up having so much fun..."

Bruce laughed, shaking his head as he escorted Steve to the door. 

"Thanks, but I don't need the details. That sounds like a great plan though. I think you should follow through with it. And get some rest if you can, okay? You need more sleep. Official medical opinion."

"Because I have such a good track record of following sensible advice!" Was Steve's shouting parting shot as he disappeared around the corridor towards the elevator. 

Bruce laughed to himself and shook his head as he crossed the room to start washing up the glasses and plates. It had been good to see Steve again, very good, and besides, it was nice to think of him and Tony having a chance at a little happiness again. It was long overdue, whenever they managed it, and if there was one thing he had learned over the years, it was that when it came to affection, every little bit of it helped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for sticking with me, in the transition from part one to part two, and with the sporadic updates and the hiatus. I worked really hard on this chapter, I wanted to do the best I could to make up for everything. I hope you enjoy it. I also felt it was a good opportunity to work through some of the feelings I've had about canonical decisions made about Steve recently. 
> 
> Thank you again, I really do appreciate all of your support and patience, especially those of you who reached out after the last update. I'll do the best I can to keep up with things better in future.


	5. Admin Message

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ! NEW CONTENT DOES EXIST!

I took a hiatus with the support of all you wonderful people. I have now come back to fandom - I'm dipping my toe slowly and tentatively back in the water. I took a lot of time working on an update for this fic, trying to do the best job I could on it to apologise for the delay, the hiatus, and the hiccups, but talking to people I know that the way I posted it may not have resulted in a notification being sent out. This is my way of getting that notification sent out! Chapter 4 which was previously the hiatus announcement is now a brand new shiny chapter of nearly five thousand words. I hope you enjoy it!


	6. Darcy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tea and Science are two passions, sometimes they can combine in a delicious explosion of science magic. Just ask Darcy.

It was a warm afternoon, and Bruce was experimenting with some iced tea flavours. There were some people who were convinced that tea was just a winter drink, or at least, autumn/winter/spring, that kind of axis. Hot drinks weren't the best for summer - after all, summer was pretty hot. The classic iced tea was lemon, sure, but peach and mango were also pretty popular. What Bruce wanted to be able to achieve was making his own bubble tea. After all it wasn't difficult to get his hands on the stuff he needed to make his own bubbles, and he'd always had a flair for experimentation. It was the best of both worlds, really, being able to combine his two passions like this: tea and science! What could go wrong...

He felt it was better not to think about that but as long as other people didn't get too involved in his work (with that he was mainly thinking about Tony who had a propensity to generate explosions even out of seemingly non explosive materials) he was confident it would be fine. 

He was just working out the proportions needed to make some lychee bubbles to add a different dimension to some of the fruit teas when there was a knock at the door. 

He hesitated. It wasn't exactly a moment where he could easily interrupt himself and so he glanced at the ceiling. 

"Jarvis, would you mind?"

"Of course, Doctor Banner. Would you prefer to know the identity of your guest before I allow them in, or do you prefer to be surprised?"

"I wouldn't go so far as being surprised, I mean as far as I'm aware there's a shortlist of people it could be without you having alerted me to the presence of a stranger. On the whole I'm not keen on surprises but this seems like a safe way to experience the unknown."

"Of course, Doctor Banner."

The door opened and Darcy made her way in a little way, looking a little confused, and a lot more subdued than Bruce was used to seeing her. 

"...Hey Darcy, good to see you, please, come in..."

"Thanks Doc.... what are those, are you cooking with frogspawn or something? I mean I know you're into exotic foods and all that but frogspawn seems a little... extreme, I guess?"

Bruce laughed.

"No, I'm not cooking with frogspawn. I'm working on making some flavoured boba. You have to boil the tapioca pearls. I do admit they look a little bit like frogspawn, but I promise they aren't. I mean I've never eaten frogspawn but I'm pretty sure it's not lychee flavour."

"...You know, I think you're probably right about that. I mean I haven't eaten it either, but I've smelled it? And give how much of taste is smell I can pretty much guarantee you that frogspawn does not taste like lychee."

Darcy moved closer, tilting her head, looking intrigued. 

"So are those like... the things for bubble tea?"

"They are! I mean, technically bubble tea doesn't have to have boba in it to be bubble tea, but I know they usually go together...." Bruce glanced up and could tell that little semantic argument wasn't the most helpful right now. He gestured at his work area, "Would you like to help me?"

Darcy walked around the counter, though she still looked uncertain and Bruce tried to give her an encouraging smile. 

"I didn't know you liked bubble tea?"

"Oh I do, I think it's great. I mean I haven't tried all of the crazy flavours but some of them are awesome. It was harder to get way out in the middle of nowhere, and by harder, I mean impossible, but it's not been so bad since we moved here. I didn't know you could make it yourself though. I mean that's probably a ridiculous comment because there are very few things you can't make yourself but..."

"I think that's more true in this house than most others." Bruce grinned, and that raised an answering smile. 

"So what are you doing?"

"Well I'm experimenting with different flavour combinations and trying to work out the best way of dealing with the boba, you know... cooking, flavouring, that kind of thing. It's pretty hard to get the hang of but I have hopes. And I'm sticking with the store bought ones for the moment. I know I can take it to the next level and try actually making my own but I decided that was a can of worms I didn't particularly want to open just yet."

"Tony would probably find a way to make them explosive.." Darcy muttered under her breath and Bruce hid a smile. 

"So... this is how you do it..."

He talked her through the process, making sure to keep the instructions simple (not that it was too difficult) while still allowing her to feel confident in what she was doing. It wasn't always an easy balance to strike. He'd had some practice when dealign with younger students, but he was a little out of practice. Still, if there was something wrong with Darcy he was glad he'd been doing this. Darcy didn't always do well talking about problems when the attention was focussed 100% on her, no matter how well meaning it was. He was a good listener, but there was no point in listening if people didn't have anything to say. 

Darcy tended to say more when she thought people weren't listening, because it was... easier that way. It was easier to handle things, to pretend, to deal with not being heard. If you said things when others were busy you had no right to expect them to hear you and so rejection was easier to take because it wasn't a rejection of you or your problems it was just ignorance. Bruce had encountered that kind of way of thinking in a few people, but she wasn't the only person in the tower who spoke more freely when they were distracted. He wasn't sure if boba making would be enough to bring her filters down so that problems actually came out, but it would be a start. 

Besides he'd always quite liked multitasking and it wasn't a complex chore. He'd given her most of the work to do, and she was very single minded about stuff like that. He still had to keep the communication channels open though.

"So how's life?"

It was a good opening gambit, a solid one, and it was an open ended question. If there was something bothering any of these people, closed questions simply weren't going to cut it. They were all far too used to minimising what was going on with them to respond to a closed question with a helpful amount of detail. 

"Oh it's good, you know? I mean obviously I'm coming up to the end of college and everything so that's a pretty big step but things are good..."

"Things are good, huh? That's good to know. I mean, I think you deserve them to be good. You're an amazing young woman, so it doesn't really surprise me. I'm happy to hear things are good. I love talking to people and listening when they have to something they need to talk about. It's a really great thing to be able to hear, but I have to say I like hearing about when things are going well too. Don't ever let that dissuade you from telling me the bad stuff, but it's nice to hear when things are good for a change. Natasha tends to be very good about that. She just.. comes and hangs around. Sometimes we talk, sometimes we don't, but it's nice to just be there. Like this, this is nice..."

"...Yeah," Darcy agreed after a moment, "Yeah it is... it's pretty cool. I never would have thought of doing something like this. I guess this is kind of the ultimate for you right? You get to combine science and tea. Seems like it's the kind of thing you'd consider a pretty perfect activity."

Bruce laughed and glanced up at her. 

"You know that's pretty much the exact thought process I had. It's tea suitable for summer, there's science involved, you make flavoured jelly things with weird colours.... it's a fun hobby. And it's not too difficult or expensive. It gives me an opportunity to play with different flavour combinations. I'm not saying I'm trying to come up with something for every one on the team but I'm considering it. I want to find my favourite first though, then maybe Pepper. Tony won't touch it, most likely."

"Well, I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure fruit tea like this tends to be like... uncaffeinated?"

Darcy was poking the boba experimentally as she spoke, and Bruce chuckled. 

"You'd be right."

"Well exactly. I mean, the man has made it clear on multiple occasions that he won't consider anything that lacks caffeine. Personally I think it's because he's scrambled his brain chemistry to the point that it's necessary. I don't know that he'll ever be able to come back from that."

"Well, it's true that Tony has an addictive personality. I mean, he also has a phenomenal amount of will power so he probably could quit if he wanted to. He just doesn't want to. Steve has toned him down a lot though, he doesn't tend to be getting much past 72 hours at the outside and that is very very rare."

"That is an improvement. I mean, Jane was never that bad? But we had that weird thing where we were working at night anyway... she was always pretty fond of both sleep and food though so it wasn't like Tony where she forgets them because work is that much more interesting. I mean I guess Thor might be more interesting and technically he originally fell under the category of work though I will not stoop so low as to make crude jokes about her doing work. Thor is, however, also a big fan of food and sleep, and a huge fan of Jane, so again it didn't really do much damage to the thing that sort of resembled a normal and well balanced routine she kind of had going. What's your current flavour combination anyway?"

"Well, those are going to be lychee, I was thinking of putting that with peach or maybe mango?"

"That sounds pretty good. Very tropical. Have you considered passionfruit boba? I think you could do a really nice kinda thing with a mixture of passionfruit and lychee. Maybe some pineapple... maybe some rum..."

"We are not adding rum to the tea."

"Why not?!"

"Because it's a terrible idea."

"One, it is not a terrible idea you are a lying liar who lies I am brilliant therefore it is a brilliant idea, and two, it might be the thing that gets Tony to drink the tea because as a rule it's acceptable if it's uncaffeinated but alcoholic."

Bruce sighed and shook his head, but he was still smiling at her irrepressible positivity. 

"...He is my best friend and I am not going to enable him like that. Besides I think you're getting bubble tea mixed up with cocktails."

"I'm just saying that I don't understand why we can't combine the two. I mean not that science and tea isn't an awesome combination but I feel like science, tea, and booze is the ultimate here."

"We'll see. I don't know if I can find a way to make alcoholic boba."

"I'm sure there must be a way." Darcy turned her most winning smile on him. 

Bruce grinned. 

"So I know it's the dreaded question for all new grads but do you have any plans?"

"Actually I do! Phil's offered me a job at SHIELD. I mean I'm pretty sure he didn't really want to but they're very short of personnel right now and I have a proven track record of being able to handle myself in weird situations and not talk about stuff. Plus Thor kind of views me as family and I think that worked in my favour? But I have a unique skill set."

"What's your major again?"

"Political science, but that's irrelevant."

"I mean, I can see how political science might play into what SHIELD does?" Bruce conceded, head tilted, considering, "But I'm very curious as to what you're going to be doing with it..."

"Well see, it's less about what I majored in and more about that one fundamental college experience: my internship. See, most people find internships for credit in their field or whatever, they satisfy their requirements through classes. I killed two birds with one stone and used an internship for a requirement, made a best friend and met multiple Asgardians who look smoking hot in leather, plus also my girlfriend. But I developed a lot of skills on the job."

"That is what internships are for but if you're not going into science I'm not sure how interning in Jane's lab will have prepared you for the working world..."

"Simple!" Her grin was dazzling and Bruce raised an eyebrow, curious as to where this was going, "I learned and mastered the skills of ditzy scientist wrangling. Don't get me wrong, Jane is awesome but she is not the most together of people and you don't want to know how everything would have shaken out if I hadn't been there to take charge of some of the administrative shit. I know the SHIELD guys are probably worse and I'm sure Coulson will throw me in the deep end, but I enjoy handling logistical stuff and I'm really not scared of anything they can throw at me because I have literally been hit by a Norse god before."

"...I thought he hit the car? And technically I thought the car hit him?"

"Jane is just not a very good driver under pressure, okay?"

"I'll bear that in mind..."

"I mean... I know you're a high powered scientist and everything? But I'm just... did you ever have a time when you felt... like you couldn't do anything right? Like nothing was going to work out and everyone was going to discover you were secretly a failure?"

Bruce was careful not to react. It wouldn't serve well to start offering platitudes that she was capable, that it was stupid to feel that way. It was always so much better to acknowledge emotions than to dismiss them, especially when they were other people's emotions. Jumping on her would do the opposite of helping. Besides, he needed to consider what to say. 

"...Science is... it's a tough profession, actually. It's normal to feel scared, it's normal to feel anxious, it's normal to think that maybe what you're doing isn't working out the way you thought it would. And to a certain extent that's just the basis of research. It wouldn't be research if we weren't trying to answer questions. Sometimes the joy of it is finding out that the answer isn't what you thought it was."

"I mean... okay I'm a world famous scientist now, but I'm not sure that was all for the right reasons. Some of it did come before the Hulking out thing, it's true. But it wasn't easy. I don't know anyone who found it easy, even Jane. Sometimes we might think about things in different ways but sometimes it can be hard to be different. There's a lot of ridicule around."

He glanced up just for a moment, to meet her eyes and smile with the slightest shrug. 

"It's... everyone goes through times when you feel like a failure and that's... that's just part of being human. If you don't feel that way sometimes then you're probably actually really bad at what you do. There's scientific proof for it and everything. If you think you're great at your job, you're probably really bad at it and too stupid to realise. If you worry about your ability, if you're not sure about what you're doing sometimes and you feel like a failure, then that's actually a better sign. I mean, being confident is good too. You can earn confidence in your ability through practice, you can believe in your ability to do a job, but if you think you're the greatest and you rock the world then that's probably the former category. So in all honesty, I don't think you have anything to worry about."

Darcy listened, then nodded slowly, taking in what he had to say. 

"...I guess that makes sense. And yeah I've met pricks like that who think every word out of their mouth is solid gold. So... you don't think I have anything to worry about?"

"...No. I sincerely think you're a very impressive young lady. You're self possessed, you've got a great sense of humour. You're resilient, you're determined, and you have a sense of your capabilities which a lot of people lack. It's good to have a sense of your strengths and weaknesses. Not everyone has that either. It's got you in a good place to build on it."

There was actually a little colour on her cheeks when he looked up next, but she was smiling. 

"...That... means a lot, actually, Doc. I mean, I trust your judgement. You've proved on a lot of occasions that it's reliable. I mean it's also been questionable at some points too. Like when you moved in here? That, that was a questionable choice. Associating with Tony Stark is, as a rule, a questionable choice."

Bruce laughed.

"That's a fair comment. I can't argue with that. But he's a good man at heart."

"You could say that about most people in this tower, but the thing about that is you're all completely crazy. Don't get me wrong I love you like family but you are not normal people and associating with you is the most questionable choice I have made."

"...Is it? Remember I live with Clint, I have heard stories about what the two of you got up to in Mexico."

"....Well, okay, it's up there among the questionable choices that I have made. I mean. This is not the life I had mapped out for me."

"Most people's lives don't take this kind of turn, it's true."

"Honestly though, Darcy... I don't.... I can understand your worry. I won't tell you not to worry. I can hope that you find confidence in yourself and your abilities. I can reassure you that there will not be a single person you know, no matter how much you think of them, who doesn't sometimes feel that way about themselves. It's an easy worry to have in a way. Things both simultaneously are and aren't under your control."

"I'm happy to listen to you whenever you feel like that. I'm sure anybody would. But the best advice I can give you is to distract yourself when you feel that way. Go to the gym and pummel a punching bag - I know Natasha and Clint have been helping you find your form - or make something, craft, draw, write, whatever you like to do, get yourself in a position of actively doing something. It's easy to get trapped inside your own thoughts. Make sure you eat and drink enough throughout the day and focus on getting enough sleep. They sound like basic things but they can have way more of an effect on your mood than you appreciate until you start getting them right."

When he looked up, Darcy was smiling. She looked bright and alive and vital, much more herself than how subdued she'd seemed when she came in. 

"You know, I... I don't know. I mean I always had faith in your advice. Like I said, I respect you, and I respect your opinion, but... I can see why the others talk to you. Not that I ever had doubts. But I don't know. I'm still pretty young and it means a lot when someone like you takes me seriously. I didn't know whether to say anything because those feelings seemed... dumb. They seemed like the kind of thing you're meant to be able to handle because nobody ever talks about them, but you listened to me and you respected me and my feelings and you didn't dismiss them and that was... that meant more than I can say. So thanks Doc."

"My pleasure. Now what do you say to finishing this little talk by testing out some of our wares? I mean we've put a lot of work into this, after all. And it's always good to have a second opinion on flavour combinations. Think you're up to it?"

Darcy laughed, and it was so good to see that wicked grin back. 

"Oh I think I could be the girl for that Doc. Let's see what science magic we've mixed up here shall we?"

"Science magic?" He laughed, incredulous, and she just nodded emphatically. 

"Science magic, Doc. Science magic. Trust me. I'm an expert in this shit."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to read last month's Steve chapter (chapter four of the fic)! It was posted in June but alerts/notifications didn't send out properly!


	7. Bucky

Things were cooling down and even though it wasn't yet September, Bruce could feel the beginnings of the anticipation he associated with autumn crackling in the air. It was becoming more and more obvious with back to school sales everywhere. It was also obvious with the teeming crowds which still thronged the streets of New York. He was looking forward to those thinning out a bit when the education system started back up again and people were obliged to go back to work. 

He'd stumbled across the perfect tea for an afternoon like this though, it was called Lazy Green, and he was anticipating it joyfully. Of course, it wasn't as hot in New York as it had been in other places he'd managed to make his home but there was still something about hot, muggy afternoons where things got stiller out of necessity that made him want to be lazy. Life didn't have to be lived at such a breakneck pace all the time and the weather had convenient ways of reminding people to take breaks by making it harder to avoid them. 

He was reclining on the couch, his feet up, an old familiar book which he wasn't really paying attention to settled on his lap as he occasionally turned the pages with nothing sinking in. 

The knock startled him out of his quiet reverie, but once he'd realised it was actually a real summons rather than something he'd imagined in the course of the narrative he was half following, Bruce got up to answer the door.

Bucky was leaning on the doorframe. Bruce wasn't sure which of them looked more like they were holding the other up really, but he stepped aside with a welcoming smile and ushered the man in. 

"It's hot."

Those were Bucky's first words, and Bruce had to bite back a smile. Of course it seemed only natural that a man also known by the moniker "Winter Soldier" wouldn't be too keen on the heat. Temperature was all relative and he'd been spending more time in cold than hot climates for decades now. Still the irony wasn't lost on Bruce. 

"It is. It is hot. You know there's air conditioning right?"

Bucky grunted an assertion but didn't sound convinced. 

"I don't like using it. I know it sounds like a stupid reason. But I don't like it."

"We don't have to give reasons for everything we do or don't like..." Bruce smiled and hesitated, "I have some nice tea? It is hot tea but it's very refreshing..."

Bucky shook his head. 

"Maybe in a little while. I need to just... be very still and wait for the heat to leave me. When I've cooled down a bit then I would very much like to try some. You have good taste in tea. I learn a lot. I enjoy sharing it with you and I appreciate your kindness. But right now I feel like it might make me melt and I would hate to make a mess of your soft furnishings."

"I am flattered by your concern for my living room, but you really don't need to worry about it."

"Pepper would be distressed if I melted and she doesn't need to be distressed. She has enough to deal with already and she should be kept calm at the moment."

"She'd probably be more stressed by you melting than what it did to the furniture though."

Bucky mused a moment, then met Bruce's eyes with one of the best poker faces Bruce had ever seen. He offered a one shouldered shrug. 

"I don't know, honestly. It's a very comfortable couch. She is very fond of it."

Bruce laughed and settled in comfortably himself. 

"Okay that's fair."

Bucky's grin was a lovely sight to behold. It was brief but bright, and it made a face which, although recognisable, had been etched by decades of sadness come alive again for that instant. 

Bruce crossed his ankles and sipped his tea again, treating this casually. 

"So... how go things? I know Steve's finding it a bit rough."

"It's... hard. Long. Complicated. We win but they make us work very hard for every bit of ground we gain and sometimes it is hard to tell how much progress we have made which makes it feel demoralising. We are winning, though. And I take special pleasure in the destruction of Hydra labs. They did bad things in those places. You know we found some children? Well, not children exactly. Young adults, they would like to be I am sure, but they are children really. Tony started procedures to have them brought here. They are not... evil. But they were changed and they are confused. So we will have new arrivals here soon and I do not know how that will be."

Bruce glanced up, his eyes sharp. 

"...Children?"

Bucky shrugged. 

"It is better for them here than elsewhere I believe. There are people here who understand what they have been through. There are people here who can help them learn about what has been done to them and how to channel whatever powers may have been awakened. If we cannot then we know those who can. Perhaps in time a school like Xavier's, but for the moment... we do not know how long they have been there, but it seems likely they have not had any contact with people for a long time. That is not good in a school environment, even one where it is normal to be abnormal. They will need adjustment, and that will not happen at SHIELD either. SHIELD is too similar to what they know already. They would try, I am sure, and perhaps it would be better, but... that would have been old SHIELD. At the moment SHIELD has neither the organisation nor the resources these children need. And being raised by a military organisation is no way to grow up whether they are good or bad or a shade of grey somewhere in between."

Bruce nodded. That sounded... well. Reasonable. And resigned. There was a weariness in Bucky's voice that Bruce hadn't heard before, and he found it interesting that rather than the Brooklyn accent becoming stronger when he was exhausted, it was the more Russian speech patterns that crept through. After all, so much about the nuances of language was less about pronounciation than the pattern of speech, the pace, the choices of words... He tried not to draw too many conclusions about Natasha from what was said either. Of course Bucky had been involved in that program, not just with Natasha, but from what he knew it was more relevant to her past than to others necessarily. 

"I know it's been busy... you've all been showing the strain a little. It's good to hear the tide is turning but if you have the chance to recharge a little, perhaps you should take a little more advantage of it? If we have new arrivals coming then things will change again and it will be even more necessary to be prepared for them."

"I take what rest I can, the way we all do. But you are not wrong."

That smile again, a little rueful this time, touched with self awareness. Bucky shifted a little on the sofa, changing his pose, letting his guard down. 

"Perhaps I could have a little of that tea, if you could spare it?"

"It's not caffeinated, by the way."

"Good. I may have an enhanced metabolism, I may be resistant to toxicity, all these things may be true, but even I know that I am running on fumes and caffeine and nothing more. It's not a good way to live. I would rather avoid it for a little and try to get some real rest. You are right. I will need it."

Bruce got up without a word and poured a glass, passing it to the man who took a deep breath of it. He sipped it, then set it down again. It was too warm for a long draught of it still, but Bucky had the feeling it would be restorative indeed when he was ready for it. 

"Thank you. It is refreshing. I like it. You are very kind to me. To all of us. I do not think... I know that you are not that kind of doctor, so you say, but I think... my recovery, such as it is, would not have proceeded so well if it weren't for you. I think the same could be said for everyone here in different ways. Steve is doing better than I expected. Tony seems to have calmed down a lot, from what I have heard about his younger days, and even his more recent exploits... Natasha trusts you. That is no easy feat. And after... was it New York? What happened there... Clint must have needed someone. I don't think anybody could have done for him what you have."

Bruce allowed the softest hint of a smile to touch his lips as he inclined his head, taking a sip from his own glass. 

"...Thank you. That's very kind."

"It is important. Everybody has their role to play in a team like this and it is important that you understand your role is not restricted to what it is that your alter ego can offer us. There is more to a team than battle, we cannot fight without a proper understanding of each other, a trust... and you are part of that. Part of the fabric. Perhaps you do not wish to be, I don't know. I understand that this sort of... fighting is not your natural choice. But you do save lives. Many lives. And I don't think you realise that you do that... both by doing what you do on a mission, and by doing what you do away from missions which allows the rest of us to continue."

Bruce glanced up, watching him, looking rather than seeing. He thought for a moment, taking in what had been said. He hadn't really considered his role on the team in those terms before. It had taken awhile before he'd even been willing to count himself as being on the team - after all it hadn't really been him they'd been after. And then he remembered when Natasha had come looking for him. He had thought this way before, he had been told that it was about the man not the monster then too, but he hadn't had an awful lot of choice in whether the monster got brought into things. 

And then in the Battle of New York he had chosen. He hadn't had to come back, he could have run again, disappeared, perhaps even being believed dead this time, but he hadn't. Something had brought him back, and realising that that decision had fulfilled the faith people had in him had been a strange feeling too. People had never really had faith in him, not about something like this. Oh there was the basic kind of faith associated with going to a doctor, of course, faith that he could heal them or a loved one... but that was about the role or the title more than the man who took it on. 

At the time it had been difficult to know what to make of Tony Stark, and sometimes Bruce still wasn't entirely sure... but these days he was completely confident in the man even if he didn't understand what he was doing. Whatever people said, Tony was a good man, and although his people skills were occasionally a little lacking they weren't completely absent. And a man who the world joked about being unworthy of faith, incapable of loyalty... he had been so unafraid of Bruce that he had treated him as an intellectual equal again and made a joke about what Bruce had considered up till then the biggest curse of his life. Tony treated it like any other disability. And he had had faith. 

In the battle the team had needed the monster far more than the man - the man would have been a bit useless all things considered. But afterwards was a different story and he hadn't expected to be included in anything... and yet he was. He had moved into the tower with the others, and started rebuilding this life, this rather pleasant existence... And he had a role. He was the team doctor, yes, but that had nothing to do with this. This wasn't about that. This was about listening and being heard, being part of something bigger. But the team doctor had always been... well, for the team. It had been a small thing in a small world and an alternative to medical for the more... difficult members of the team whom the medical personnel had come to dread. He took care of his friends to take care of his friends, and no he didn't go on every mission because although Hulk was useful in some situations he certainly wasn't particularly versatile.

He'd assumed that he didn't have a role in the battles he wasn't part of, but the clean up, the support, the healing was a role. Without those things they wouldn't be able to do the things they did, and that... Bucky was right. Even if Bruce had never thought about it that way before, Bucky was right. 

He nodded slowly and sipped his tea again, glancing up. 

"...Thank you. Really. I... that was quite the change in perspective but I am grateful for it."

Bucky shrugged one shoulder and nodded sharply. 

"You are welcome."

He drained his glass and sighed softly. 

"Now I believe I should leave you doctor. It cannot have escaped your keen notice that I am very tired. Although your sofa is very comfortable I should go back to my own bed and refuse to leave it until absolutely necessary. I appreciate your time, and your tea very much and I hope I have not bored you. I am aware that I am... difficult sometimes, and I hope I have not crossed any lines, but I hope you also have a newfound appreciation for your own value because certainly we value you greatly. You are a good and kind man, an intelligent man, a generous man... you are many things, and you are important. Most of all I appreciate that there is something about you which makes me feel at peace and I know I am not the only one who thinks this way."

Bucky got to his feet again and the movements were not as graceful as they usually were. He stretched a little, and offered both a smile and his hand. 

"Thank you again. Perhaps next time we see each other I shall be more my normal self."

"Sleep well..." Bruce smiled, shaking his hand, oddly charmed by the formality of the gesture as he watched him go and settled back on his couch. 

Well. Teenagers. That was going to be interesting...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I managed to write and submit my thesis and lit review last month! Apologies for the missed update, but I'm sure you can forgive me with deadlines like that. I'm on for a second master's degree and moving on into a PhD now so wish me luck! Hopefully there will be another chapter this month to catch you guys up :) thanks for sticking with it and supporting both me and the fic! Love to you all and best wishes.


	8. Pepper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New arrivals can occasionally be a little disquieting and occasionally it's okay to be uncomfortable with change without it being personal.

Life in the tower had definitely picked up since the twins' arrival, to the surprise of nobody. It wasn't a huge disruption or anything, but it was a change in the routine and things had to be adjusted to suddenly account for the presence of two extra people. They seemed to be settling in though, and Bruce was grateful for that. It was a good sign. And privately he was starting to suspect that being able to handle life in Avengers tower would be good practice for whatever else might be thrown at them, for example at Xavier's school. Sometimes the Avengers could be pretty damn childish. He decided to view it as a primer rather than worrying too much. 

It was coming up to five in the afternoon and he was settling in for a delayed break. Sometimes that was how the lab work turned out, after all. Things took however long they took, and there was no way to predict that in advance, or at least, not with any guarantee of accuracy. More often than not it was easier to work all the way through and then break or finish early for the day than it was to break in the middle and try to pick back up again. 

There was a soft knock which made him glance up, and he grinned. He was fairly sure he knew who that was. Sure, she usually let him know in advance, but if a spontaneous window opened up in her packed schedule he found it flattering when Pepper chose to spend it with him. 

He crossed over and opened the door, ushering her in with a warm smile and a chaste kiss to her cheek. 

They embraced for a long moment, savouring the contact, and the peace they found in each other's arms when the rest of the world seemed to be descending into chaos around them. 

Eventually Pepper raised her head from where it was resting against his chest and smiled up at him, her eyes weary but clear. 

Bruce smiled in return and stole a quick kiss from her before releasing her from the embrace and turning towards the kettle. 

"I was just about to make some tea, would you like a cup? I think you'll really like it."

"Oh? What is it?"

"It's a rooibos so it's low in caffeine which is always nice. But it has flavours of strawberry and vanilla and creaminess and it's got some camomile in there too. So basically it's low in caffeine on one hand, and on the other it has camomile and basically encourages you to sleep."

Pepper smiled warmly, and Bruce was lost for a moment in the way the sunlight caught her hair and made it burn bright gold, fierce and glorious. He shook his head briefly to bring himself back to reality. 

"Yes, that sounds perfect. Thank you."

Bruce bowed slightly, the smile a permanent fixture on his face now they were together again, and started making the tea. 

"It's a loose leaf so I'll pour it to make sure it goes smoothly... did something in particular bring you down here or was it a whim? Stroke of luck? Golden opportunity?"

"Hmmm..." Pepper folded her hands in her lap and tilted her head as she considered. 

"I suppose it was all of those things. I... had the opportunity, obviously. I didn't clear this space specifically for you but when I realised there was a gap I promptly blocked it out on my schedule to stop anything from filling it up again. It's tiring but I've learned that scheduling time for myself as a commitment as inviolate as those I make to others is actually the only way to guarantee that I get any."

Bruce nodded pouring the water onto the leaves and watching it brew. 

"That makes sense. I think it's a good habit to get into, actually."

"It certainly is better than any other system I've tried, I have to say... and with the baby on the way I do need to be stricter about my time management otherwise when I take a break everything will fall apart. It's a hazard of trying to do too much."

Bruce chuckled softly and nodded, bringing over the glasses and pressing a kiss to Pepper's temple as he set them on the table. He sat down next to her on the sofa and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, allowing her to cuddle into him. 

"And I suppose... more specifically I'm just struggling a little to come to terms with the fact that there are suddenly teenagers living here."

"It is a swift adjustment... I... don't think all of us were completely... aware of it happening. I mean I understand Tony's motivation, I think they really are much safer here than they would be anywhere else. None of us are comfortable with the idea of them staying with SHIELD."

"Oh, no, definitely not..." Pepper cuddled up closer, "I just... I don't know really. It was a surprise. It's not that I don't want them here."

"But suddenly new people in your space and teenagers are a different kind of demanding."

"And with the baby on the way... it feels a bit like seeing the future? I mean... I know the chances of there being any... abnormality is... is small. And we're watching and we can handle it if something goes wrong. But I just... I'm... happy... but I'm also... really, really quite scared. And I was taking my time to adjust to the idea, but now it's... physically here in my space in a way I wasn't anticipating."

Bruce nodded, brushing a kiss over her hair, an arm around her waist.

"That makes sense... you know you're not a bad person for thinking like that, right?"

"I... I know..." Pepper cuddled into him a little, sighing softly, "I know. But it helps to hear that. Because I feel guilty for resenting them. I mean it's not even resentment. It's just discomfort. I'm sure when I get to know them I'll feel differently but..."

"They're not your responsibility, if that helps?" Bruce nuzzled her gently, "I know it's... they're sort of provisionally on the team. I don't know exactly how that's going to work. But we're probably not going to put them at risk. I don't think we're going to put them at risk anyway. But you're not an Avenger, and they're not your responsibility. I think you could blame Tony possibly? Steve and Tony. They're Steve and Tony's problem. I think Natasha already has designs on Wanda and Clint has a mutually abusive relationship with Pietro. You can be the aunt, and you can decide how much contact you do and don't have with them. You are not responsible, you are not under any obligation."

"I think I'm just more susceptible at the moment with... with the baby. I mean... I wouldn't wish them being on their own like that on anyone... but it's..."

"But it's hard right in your face like that."

"Yes. And it's been a long day, I think I'm having... I think everything's a bit magnified. When you're tired everything's magnified. And hormones are evil."

Bruce chuckled softly and Pepper purred gently as she cuddled up to him. He stroked her hair. 

"Hormones are evil. I am a doctor. This is a medical fact."

"Good. So long as you recognise this."

"I do. I think that's maybe why I'm so popular with my patients."

"What patients?"

"...Well the motley crew who live here."

"I think that's fair. You realise you became their physician by default right? Literally nobody else would deal with them."

"And they wouldn't deal with anyone else..." Bruce was grinning as he rubbed her hip. 

"Well there is that. But it's not exactly the most mutual of relationships is it?"

"One could argue that it's mutually dysfunctional?!" He tried for optimism through his laughter, and Pepper poked him gently in the ribs. 

"That's probably the best you can hope for really."

"My standards are low..." he murmured, muffled as he pressed a kiss to her temple, then her lips, smiling. 

She poked him again and he grinned like an idiot, somehow irrationally pleased by the fact that she was so openly unafraid of him, unafraid of what he might become, unafraid to tease. 

"I suppose I deserved that?"

"Any man who is fortunate enough to be with me and then goes on to imply that he has low standards deserves a lot worse. You should count yourself lucky, doctor." 

Pepper groused, but cuddled up anyway. 

Bruce smiled warmly and stroked the back of her hand, leaning around to kiss her, soft and sweet. 

"You have a point, my lady, and I apologise from the bottom of my heart. That was unfair. I am humbled. I am blessed to share my life with a woman of your exquisite grace, your charm, elegance, acumen, intelligence, and infinite generosity."

Pepper watched him, one eyebrow raised, and then gently reached up to poke him on the nose, smiling. 

"That's more like it. Fortunately for you, my standards are pretty low as well."

Bruce tilted his head for a moment, then grinned. 

"Well, I guess that explains why you're friends with Tony!"

Pepper mock-glared for a moment before dissolving into laughter, and the two of them cuddled down to spend the rest of the afternoon in quiet solitude together. They loved the other members of this weird and wonderful family, of course they did, but sometimes it was the best thing in the world, to be alone with someone else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I'm not dealing with the easiest of topics all the time but I hope I still handle things realistically, and sensitively. I'm hoping to get another chapter in this month so I'm caught up on missing the August one in favour of my thesis deadline (even though I know all you lovely people understand). 
> 
> Thank you all so much for all your support, it makes such a difference.


	9. Tony

It was a slightly scattered knock that drew Bruce's attention from the paper he was focussed on. He smiled to himself. He knew that knock anywhere. 

"Come in Tony..."

He set the paper aside and stood to greet his guest, moving automatically towards the kettle. It would do Tony good to have something with less caffeine in it. He would find a way to distract him from the fact until it was too late. Bruce was well aware that Tony's brain chemistry, although never quite normal, had been chemically altered by caffeine years before and would probably never recover. Still, given the opportunity he saw no reason to add to that problem. 

Tony came in with a rush of energy and Bruce hid a smile.

"Of course I can come in. I mean I knock to be polite but really I'm the landlord here and this is my property and as such I can enter it whenever I like but out of deference to you and some sort of politeness as a rule I refuse. I just want to be clear that I don't need permission or anything like that. I mean obviously I don't. It's my house."

Bruce ignored him. It was easier when Tony was babbling like that. Besides, Tony was well aware that nobody took him seriously when he went off on tangents like that, and although it was a perpetual disappointment to him (or so he claimed) he took it pretty good naturedly. 

Tony was an easy man to get along with provided you didn't take him too seriously. Fortunately that wasn't really a problem anyone else in the tower had at this point.

"Yes. Well done. You came in. And incidentally I'm not completely clear on the legal stance here but in most places landlords are required to give notice before entering the property. 24 hours or so."

Tony pulled a face. 

"Well I didn't call ahead and I'm here so you can deal with it."

"Mmhmm..." Bruce agreed peaceably, pushing a glass of fresh tea towards him, "Or... We could say you're here as a friend and then the whole point is moot anyway."

Tony paused, considering first the tea, then Bruce, before he gave a sharp nod and flopped himself down onto the couch. 

"....Well then I guess that works..."

"Imagine my relief," Bruce deadpanned, "I'd hate to have to get a lawyer. They're so expensive here."

"And I have the best legal team in the world on retainer."

"Well, Stark Industries does. I'm dating the CEO. I think that might give me first dibs."

Tony clutched a hand to his chest with a betrayed expression. 

"Are you stealing my lawyers to fight me on a legal issue Banner? That's just... that's just outrageous...."

"Mmmmn..." Bruce took a sip of his tea, eyes dancing, smiling smugly behind the mug, "Perks of dating the CEO rather than pissing her off I guess."

Tony pointed at him. 

"You're out of the will."

"You don't have a will."

"I so have a will. Probably. I think."

Bruce rolled his eyes a little.

"If you haven't got one you should go and speak to one of those overpriced lawyers and get one drawn up because a man like you is in high demand when he's alive. It'll be even higher when you're dead and the government will want your tech. Just saying. I'd sort that out now if I were you."

"Screw you, I'm going to live forever." Tony countered eloquently, flipping Bruce off and taking a long draught of tea. 

Bruce just smiled quietly and waited in comfortable silence for the man to bring up whatever was on his mind. Sure sometimes Tony visited just for the hell of it but more often than not there was a science problem or a personal problem and he was in need of a little low pressure company. Also he despised silence. Phil had cultivated the use of silence as a weapon in much the same way, although he didn't always use it for good so much as to find out what Clint and Natasha had been up to this time. Bruce had a lot of respect for him for that. 

Bruce found silence encouraged people to talk in general, it was a good way of getting patients to open up for example, but with Tony... well, admittedly he had to listen keenly to what was said and what wasn't said and then fill in the gaps, but Tony was fundamentally uncomfortable with silence and it could get him to crack faster than anything else. At least with someone he trusted.

"So we've grown again huh?" Tony offered eventually, taking another sip of the tea. The advantage to the flavour was that it hid the lack of caffeine until it was too late for Tony to notice. 

"It seems like it... we're an interesting team, really." Bruce answered with a slight smile.

"Well it seems like if we do a semi-decent job then there's a chance the two newest recruits might end up being the most well adjusted people on the team."

Tony shrugged and set the glass down.

"That's a weird thought."

"Well they're not the only orphans? We have a surprising concentration of those here, particularly if you go by the technical definition..." Bruce reached for the biscuit tin and opened it, holding it out to Tony. 

The engineer took several and started attempting to construct something out of them. 

Bruce decided not to comment. 

"I... guess..." Tony shrugged, focussing on the current engineering project, "I mean... well if you bring abuse and neglect into it did any of us really have parents?"

"Steve did? Well, his mother anyway..." Bruce offered after a moment's thought, "And... I had my mother, for a little while... um... Bucky did? Thor! Thor had parents. Thor had good parents."

"So the most well adjusted person on the team from a family background point of view is the extra-terrestrial..." Tony summarised dryly, picking a biscuit from the top of his structure, dunking it in his tea and taking a bite, "Well that just takes the biscuit..."

"No, pretty sure you did that..." Bruce was unable to resist, and he just grinned, unaffected by the venomous glare Tony shot his way in response to the admittedly less than helpful comment. 

"Remind me why I let you live here again?"

"Because you'd get lonely doing science all on your own again and it's nice to have someone to argue with who isn't one of your own creations, and because I'm sleeping with your CEO. Also occasionally I feed you baked goods and I'm the only other person you've met who's been known to talk back to their experiments when they start beeping."

Tony waved the biscuit threateningly for a moment, then deflated, conceding the point, and eating the biscuit. 

"Yeah, okay, fair enough. Besides even if I kicked you out you wouldn't actually leave because I think Pepper might technically be the landlord of the building and so that's not a fight I'd win."

"Well no," Bruce shrugged blandly, "And you love me."

"I wouldn't go that far."

"No, you wouldn't, but that's because you show love by casual personal abuse." Bruce's smile was far too sunny and Tony glared again. 

"So... you think we can do it?"

"Do what? Because, again, Pepper will not be happy if you're propositioning me. You've stolen her boyfriends before. I know this. She has told me."

"No, I mean..." this time the shrug was small, hesitant, and Tony wasn't making eye contact as he stared down into his tea, "I mean with the kids... I mean none of us exactly have healthy models to draw on except Bucky who is... not best placed to deal with it even if he's met them before. Especially if he's met them before. Steve who worries too much and will set a bad example, and Thor whose parenting wasn't exactly of a style which is going to go down well in trying to give these kids some kind of grounding in the real world."

Ah. So that was what it was. Bruce knew Tony had issues around the idea of parenthood. It wasn't really surprising, considering how badly things had gone with his own father and how much Tony found himself like him in other ways even if he hated the comparison. Although he had done a good thing, the right thing, the only thing that could have been done in that situation... he was still not going to be able to rest easy because he had taken responsibility for some majorly traumatised teenagers who hated him by their own admission and if Tony Stark was going to be starting down any path that vaguely resembled fatherhood, that was a really terrible way for it to kick off. 

"You know... I think what's going to be the most important thing is something we can work on, and that's stability. Reliability. Boundaries. A structure."

Tony shot him a disbelieving look. 

"Really. You think we can do those things. Because we're all so notoriously good at those things."

"We're actually pretty good on the whole. We have routines, you regularly complain about how horribly domestic everything here is. Steve still runs on military time, Bucky has a routine because it helps him feel calm, Natasha and Clint have routines because it means being home not on a mission, as does Coulson. I have a work day pattern, so does Pepper. You don't so much, but there are still certain basic structures we all work to, like dinner time and movie nights. That's a good start. We can figure this out."

"I just don't... don't wanna screw them up worse, you know?"

There was naked vulnerability there, but Bruce's expression was unimpressed. The man was a friend. He could get away with that.

"Tony, whilst I appreciate what you're saying, and that you have the best intentions, the initial screwing up was done by Hydra who are basically world champions at that. Whatever we do it's not going to be worse. I mean the standards are almost horrifically low. But I can guarantee it's not going to be worse."

Tony looked at him for a long, long moment before he gave a brief nod and took another sip of tea. 

"Okay."

"I mean... I dunno, it's coming up a lot at the moment. With you and Pepper and... now this. I have a lot more to be scared of with kids than I do to be... happy about. Not that I'm not happy, obviously. But... I don't wanna turn into my father. He was not a good man in so many ways and I see nothing to admire about him. But I'm so like him. I hear that all the time, get reminded of that all the time, hear his words coming out of my mouth... I tell the same lies, do the same dances..."

"Tony."

Bruce pitched his voice quietly, but firmly, cutting off the monologue and calling the engineer back to reality. There was a real fear in those eyes, but Bruce did his best to ease it, offering a smile.

"You are not your father."

"I mean obviously, but-"

"You are not your father. You never have been. You have never been in danger of turning into him. You are his opposite in so many ways, you know that? Howard Stark turned his rage outwards, always, using it as a weapon against others. You don't do that. You turn your rage inwards. You always have. You have hurt yourself so much, in so many ways over so many years. You have shouldered the blame, you have taken the punches, and you have done it all while pretending nothing hurt at all even when you were bleeding to death. You have never ever used your authority to spread your misery around, even when your father did that. It would never cross your mind to do some of the things he did to you to another person. You are not your father."

Tony opened his mouth, glanced at Bruce and closed it again. He swallowed. 

Bruce softened his tone a little, trying to be gentle, to be kind. 

"You would never hold a child to higher standards than a grown engineer. You don't get angry when people correct you if they're right. You would never tell a child to do something harmful. You would never make them hold something that's too hot, or too cold, or which burns and eats at their skin. You would never use your position to take advantage of someone because you wanted to fuck them but they weren't interested. I know you wouldn't. I know you, Tony."

There was silence, then the engineer nodded. 

"I... guess you're right. I mean, I still don't have a clue what the hell to do with them. It's not like I ever had a positive model."

"Didn't you?"

Tony looked at him like he was an idiot, and Bruce shrugged, glancing upwards.

Tony blinked a few times. 

"Jarvis?"

"Well from what you've told me... I think if you remember Jarvis, and you think about what you would have wanted so badly... I don't think you're going to go far wrong, Tony. I don't think you're going to go nearly as badly wrong as you think you are. Treat them like people. The root of all evil is treating people like things. But you never have done that, and in fact you're more likely than anyone else I know to treat things like people."

"That's because people aren't things." Tony replied, like it was the simplest thing in the world. 

Bruce just smiled. He knew what it was like to be treated like a thing. So did Clint, so did Natasha, so did Steve... so did Tony, really, though he would never admit it. And Bucky had spent more of his life as a thing than a person. It might have been one of the most basic principles, one of the most obvious things to say, but there were so many people who, frankly, hadn't got the hang of it. 

He leaned in a little closer, reaching out to rest a hand on Tony's shoulder and squeeze. 

"You're a good person, Tony. Maybe it'll be easier to believe that if you forget the Stark. But everybody who knows you sees that anyway. Their defences are up now and maybe they won't trust you when you tell them it was Stane, maybe they won't trust you when you take responsibility for what happened like I know you're going to anyway, but if you are honest with them, and if you respect them, and if you treat them like people... it will work out. Because you're a good person. And I'm not going to tell you bad things don't happen to good people because we're all living proof that that's, to put it mildly, bullshit. But I am going to tell you that time heals an awful lot of wounds and I have no doubt whatsoever that this is going to work out just fine."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I caught up on chapters! Yaaaaay! Positive thing. I hope you enjoyed it. And I really hope it's coming across well.


	10. Thor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes it's easy to forget how different Thor is, and sometimes it is more obvious than ever.

"Pardon me, Doctor Banner."

Bruce glanced up as Jarvis' cut-glass vowels broke the silence, one eyebrow arched in mild surprise as he turned a page in his book. 

"May I help you?"

"Lord Odinson is outside, and wishes very much to visit you. He asked me to enquire whether that might be convenient as he was earnest not to interrupt, and is aware that his volume control is occasionally lacking. He did not want to startle you or cause any distress."

Bruce blinked, frowning a little as he sat up straighter. 

"Is Thor okay?"

It was perfectly true that subtlety was not one of the many virtues Thor possessed, but Bruce hadn't seen him so self-effacing before. 

"He asks me to give you his word that he is well, he is merely endeavouring to become more considerate of those he lives with."

"Oh, well in that case of course he's more than welcome to come in.. should I make some tea?"

"I would appreciate that very much, Doctor!" Came Thor's voice as the door opened and the prince walked in. "You are a kind and generous man to allow others to avail themselves of your hospitality so frequently. I myself have not come empty handed! My lady Jane, the lady Darcy and myself made a trip to Coney Island this morning and I come with a selection of pastries from the bakeries there. I believe them to be most appealing. I hope you will accept this offering and allow me to share your table."

Bruce smiled and nodded, gesturing for Thor to make himself comfortable on one of the gently worn couches. He himself set the kettle boiling and flicked through the tea available, trying to decide what was likely to appeal. 

"Well, if we're to have Russian pastry how about we pair it with Russian tea for authenticity's sake?" Bruce suggested with a smile as his hand settled upon the Smoky Russian Caravan. 

Thor's grin practically lit up the room. It was refreshing to see such real joy. Most people had learned by adulthood to tamp down their emotions, to suppress them, keep lids on them, make them smaller and quieter to take up less space and not draw attention. That was part of why, as one aged, it became harder to trust what your emotions were trying to tell you because you had spent years shutting them out. 

Thor could be overwhelming at first, particularly for people who weren't used to him, because he simply had not had that coaching. It was also wonderful to encounter a man who felt comfortable expressing the full range of emotion. Bruce had noticed that men these days in particular felt like they were restricted to a very narrow set of emotions, most notably anger, although pride and contempt were generally also permitted. Thor was comfortable with his anger, to be sure, and that in and of itself was an improvement because it meant it was less liable to be turned outwards in mindless violence, but he was also comfortable expressing other things. He was open about happiness, sadness, fear, pride, joy, and love for his friends and family as well as the woman who was now his wife. 

"That sounds like a most wonderful idea. I do very much admire your range of delicious beverages. I know some are surprised because they do not imagine that dried leaves can taste in so many different ways but I am well acquainted with the different flavours and combinations of plants, and their value. It is a wonderful thing to partake in for pleasure, I think."

Bruce poured the water into the pot, taking a deep breath to appreciate the scent of it as it began to brew. He carried it over to the table and unearthed two glasses, setting them ready for when the tea could be poured. 

"Was there any particular reason you went to Coney Island or just because?"

Bruce asked, more out of curiousity than anything else. 

"Truly I find it a most interesting neighbourhood. I enjoy very much the way it is possible to visit different places by exploring microcosms within this great living, breathing organism of a city. But our dear Captain never fails to speak highly of it, and Lady Darcy enjoys both the aquarium and the amusements. I myself am a big fan of the food, and the sea air is most refreshing."

Bruce poured the tea, glancing down in concentration to conceal the smile that rarely left his lips in Thor's irrepressible presence. 

"Those are all good reasons." He agreed solemnly, passing the god a glass which was dwarfed in his hand, and raising his own in a toast. 

"Your health, good doctor!"

"And that of my team..." Bruce replied with a wry twinkle, taking a sip of the smoky warmth which suited very much the change in the air outside. 

Thor chuckled and slapped his knee.

"Indeed! A wise and kind man you are, and a gifted physician. I am sure that we would all be in sore need without your attentions and skill."

Bruce inclined his head in gratitude. Sometimes it could be hard to accept compliments like that, but there was something endearing about the delivery from Thor. It was all but impossible to imagine him telling a lie, there seemed to be sincerity in every fibre of his being, and the almost archaic, yet flowing formal delivery made it stick in ways that others did not always. It was as if Thor had put thought into it, even though his speaking patterns were natural to him. Thor was every inch a king, even if he might yet never hold the throne. He had been bred to it and raised to it, and although the impetuosity of youth had threatened him, he had learned and he had grown. Bruce was well aware of the dangers of underestimating him. Which was, admittedly, not hard to do when dealing with a man who could remind one of an overenthusiastic golden retriever.

"You've been busy lately..." Bruce offered, taking another sip of his tea. 

Thor nodded gravely, his expression suddenly more serious. 

"There has been trouble on Asgard, and hints of more in other realms. I do not know yet what pattern there might be but the portents are not good. I am no expert in such things though. My mother, or my brother perhaps, they are the wise ones. I grow in wisdom slowly but it will take millenia for me to reach the level of my father. And honestly sometimes I find myself doubting his wisdom these days. It is difficult to question the authority which shaped my life and my childhood, I thought my destiny... but he is... inflexible, and I have learned from watching others that flexibility is a virtue to be praised. Rigidity means one is more likely to shatter from change, whether that change be good or bad. I respect his skills, but I would like to be the best of my father and my mother both."

Bruce nodded, understanding. Thor's father was difficult in his own way and it was important to recognise that. Admittedly the standard for parental role models on the team was lacking but none of them would envy Thor dealing with Odin. It seemed the old man would never pass on the mantle to his sons, despite that they had been groomed for kingship, and it was difficult to be raised to a role you might never be permitted to play. 

"I have enjoyed fighting alongside the comrades of my youth again, but it has brought home to me how much I come to miss this team when I am apart from them. We are a family indeed it seems, and I miss my lady Jane dearly. I did not expect, when I was sent here such a short time ago, to find myself building a life on this planet which appeals to me far more than the life I believed I was destined to lead. It is strange what a difference a feeling of choice can make. Before, things were set out before me as a linear path and now my destiny feels as branched as the worlds tree itself. It is a new kind of freedom, and with it there is more humility than I might ever have learned if I had not changed."

Thor toasted Bruce and took a draught of tea, unbothered by the heat of it. 

"I was surprised to return from my latest trip and find that we have some new additions... it is nice to have children around, I feel. I do not understand their struggles as my brother might, but I welcome them. I believe it is important to offer refuge to those who need it and children are blameless always. Besides, I have seen first hand the damage it can do to mistreat such children. We cannot wipe away their pasts or pretend they are other than they are, but we can value them for who they are. I regret often the careless words I gave no thought to which added to the pain my brother felt, the burden he carried. I made him other, I made him different as did we all because it was easy. Truth be told he was our equal, more in some respects. These children too are different but perhaps... we can offer them acceptance. They are alien in so many ways. They are alien in culture, strangers to this country and this city, this family, and I understand that as far as Midgardian norms go we rarely conform. They are powerful too, with skills the majority do not possess. They are likely to be excluded, or perhaps worse outside of here."

Bruce sighed softly, nodding in agreement. Part of him was surprised by the depth of analysis Thor had reached, but for the most part he tried not to be surprised by anything anymore, particularly when it came to Thor. It was so easy to forget that he came from a race to whom their technology was obsolete, that he had been raised as a prince, surrounded by what passed for magic, and that he was older, much older, than all of them combined. It was easier to dismiss Asgard as being fighting and drinking and nothing more, but although that might have been the perception of most ordinary citizens, it seemed a fair amount had rubbed off on Thor during his years as part of a royal family, with everything that entailed. 

Although until his unexpected visit to Earth the value of diplomacy had been lost on Thor, he had been a quick study and could handle situations with a deftness which meant some of the lessons must have sunk in even if he had ignored them at the time. 

Thor took another draught, and offered Bruce a wry smile. It felt almost as if he had been transported into one of the fantasy worlds he loved to read about. He was sitting opposite a man wrapped in a grey travelling cloak, with shoulder length blond hair half tied back. A Viking out of legend. It was appropriate, of course, but it sometimes struck him more prominently. When Thor was wandering around having forgotten about pants being a rule for socially acceptable interaction, or in search of pop tarts, then it was easy to forget, but now it did feel like talking to a god. Not only that, but Bruce was being approached as an equal. That thought sent a shiver down his spine. It wasn't a bad thought, but it was weighty, and something he would have to muse further on at a later date. 

"In truth doctor I had not planned on becoming a father so soon. Perhaps I am too young to have fathered children so grown, but I believe they will need models they might look up to. I also feel the standards here will be high. I realise it is not an easy topic, and perhaps there are some who believe themselves to be unfit, but I have fought alongside all of you, and lived alongside all of you, and I believe truly that there may be few better environments in which to raise a child. We wish them to adopt good values, above anything else. I do not comment on what their values might be already you understand, for I am sure they were well intentioned, but I feel that there is much they could learn here as I learn from all of you every day."

That took Bruce by surprise. He wasn't entirely sure what he had expected, but it had not been the realisation of the impact it was possible to have on someone's life like that. He went about his life as normal, giving no second thought to the ripples he might leave behind. Sometimes he wondered about patients he had treated in his years as a traveller but now... well, the Avengers had obvious tangible effects, but they never considered them on an individual level, and although Bruce agreed that he too had learned a lot from his team... he had somehow not expected it to be a two way process. 

Thor smiled, and his eyes crinkled warmly at the edges as he drained his glass. 

"You are surprised, Doctor."

"...A little," Bruce confessed, "I suppose I never gave it much thought. I agree that living well, leading by example, embodying values that are important to you is a valuable thing. I just hadn't really given full consideration to the consequences."

"I have learned much from you. I have learned patience and acceptance. These were not things I had ever encountered before in such ways as you display them. You accept yourself and your other half and the power you have gained through that acceptance, the control you have... it is staggering. You also accept others as they are without trying to change them, though you encourage change if it is a path they choose for themselves. You are patient in everything you do, deliberate, methodical. Perhaps this is a quality of all good physicians, I believe it might well be, but I believe it also to be magnified by the circumstances of your life and the experiences you have had."

"From the lady Natasha I have learned the value of words when used wisely, both soft and harsh words, and I have learned grace. Quite apart from the issue of combat where I believe any warrior might learn. Patience too I have seen modelled by Agent Barton, and I have also learned the value of taking pleasure in small things, and in tempering indulgence. I have not yet met a mortal I have not learned from. I look forward to learning more in future. Nothing opened my eyes to myself and others more than being exiled here."

"We are... an interesting group of people." Bruce agreed, his voice a little unsteady as he tried to process such sincere compliments. Self examination was always difficult and it was impossible to visualise and understand the way one appeared to others. There were many things he tried to practice, although he felt he missed a lot of the time, but hearing that a friend, someone who had experienced so much still respected him, viewed him as someone to learn from was staggering. He did not quite know how to respond, but he could tell even now that it was a shift in his world view and his understanding of where he fitted into the bigger picture. 

Thor chuckled softly, far from his usual room shaking guffaw, and he nodded.

"That we are, my friend."

He raised his empty glass to Bruce again, eyes twinkling over the rim, and Bruce felt distinctly as though he was being treated as being in on a private joke. 

"I do not think I have ever met someone with such an understanding of human nature as you. That is one of the reasons why I so enjoy your company. I find Midgard absolutely fascinating, and its inhabitants moreso. The life you have led has given you an insight that I suspect few other people have, and I thank you for allowing me to share it with you."

Bruce managed a shaky smile as he returned the toast for a final time. 

"...It's my pleasure. You are my friend and my comrade, and to you my door is always open."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's nano, this was a good way of making some wordcount. There may be more updates if I can't think of anything else this month! But either way I'm very proud of this chapter and I thought it was about time Thor made an appearance in the sequel since Tony's already appeared twice (he's an attention whore but we love him).
> 
> Hope you enjoy!


	11. Twins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce's first discussion getting to know the twins, and helping them adjust to their new environment. After all, it's no fun when you can't figure out the rules of the game.

Bruce was fairly sure he felt a breeze brush past him as he peeled vegetables for a dinner with Pepper that evening. He frowned and glanced around the apartment. There were no breezes here, the climate control was done by Jarvis and even that was pretty well controlled. He couldn't see anything, however, and so he dumped the aubergine into the dish with the other vegetables for roasting, seasoning them with rosemary and a little balsamic vinegar. They didn't need to go in yet but they would be delicious later on.

He washed his hands and turned back to the lounge area, planning to take a break, when he jumped to see Pietro sat sullenly in the corner of one of his couches.

Wanda was sat next to him serenely.

Bruce took a moment, then smiled, stepping closer as he set the towel he had been using to dry his hands aside.

"Good afternoon... how are you both doing? It's lovely to see you. You're always welcome to visit. I'd prefer it if you could knock in future though?"

It was important to set boundaries clearly and early, and stick to them. Bruce was fairly sure this one wouldn't be a problem, but it wouldn't be fair on the twins to be unclear on it.

Pietro looked down and uttered an admittedly not particularly sincere apology. He didn't like being chastised, and he didn't know how to react to it in this new environment. The rules were different here and the uncertainty was starting to chafe.

Bruce smiled, trying to defuse the tension. It wasn't going to be easy but he wanted to do his best. He was actually quite surprised to see them both. Of course he had said they were always welcome to come to him and the rest of the team certainly made a habit of it, but they had had minimal interaction so far. Bruce decided to look upon it as a positive step.

"When I have visitors I often make a cup of tea. Would you two like to share some tea with me?"

Pietro glanced to Wanda, who nodded. It made sense, she was able to sense motives and so although Pietro would probably be the intial taster, Wanda would be able to cut down on deliberate risk before it affected them, Bruce thought.

"What kind of tea do you like?"

"We aren't sure. What kinds do you recommend?"

Bruce considered it. It probably wouldn't be fair to go for something too exotic, but at the same time...

"Well I don't know if it sounds like your kind of thing but I have a chocolate tea which I think is quite nice?"

Pietro frowned, looking unimpressed at the through of someone adulterating something as pure as chocolate with tea.

Wanda glanced at him, covering his hand with her own and looking back to Bruce with another slight nod.

"We will try the chocolate tea. Thank you."

Bruce nodded and made a pot, carrying it to the table and retrieving three glasses. He poured the tea and slid them over, giving Wanda the red one and Pietro the blue.

Wanda picked hers up and turned it, seemingly hypnotised by the way the light caught it.

Pietro still looked unconvinced.

Bruce smiled, not letting the sullenness get to him. Pietro was entitled to be difficult. He was a teenager going through a tough time. Bruce wasn't about to take it personally. Besides, reacting to that sort of behaviour only encouraged it and he already had enough sulking to deal with from Tony at times.

"These are very pretty. Is this usual?" Wanda asked, eventually setting her glass down without yet taking a sip.

"In Western countries I think it's more common to use china or porcelain, so tea is often in cups or mugs, but I collected these glasses while I was in the Middle East and I prefer using them. I think it gives a more ceremonial, more special feeling to the tea which is something I try to hang on to. I treat making tea like a break in the day. I don't just do it hurriedly between other things with half my mind on something else. I stop, I deliberately consider my choice and I take the time to brew it properly with the correct temperature water and the right length of time, and then I enjoy drinking it. If you don't like the tea that's absolutely fine, you don't have to drink it. I find the process very meditative though and things which add to it are things I appreciate."

"That makes sense. Thank you. I had not seen it served like this before. I like it. The red is very beautiful."

"I thought it might be your favourite colour?" Bruce suggested with a smile, and he was glad to get a smile in return as Wanda nodded.

"I suppose they're nice." Pietro said, offering nothing more.

Bruce nodded his thanks, not engaging with the combative tone. He could tell the young man's body language was softening, and that was progress.

"So how are you two settling in? I know you've been here a month or so already but it can be such a disorientating change and this isn't the easiest environment to get used to... is there anything I could help with?"

Wanda started to say something, but Pietro cut her off, taking her hand this time.

"We are fine."

Wanda rolled her eyes and squeezed her brother's hand.

"We are well, thank you. You are right though, it is difficult. We are on the other side of the world and things are very different. You have not always lived a life like this, how was it for you to go from the existence you had where you were so close to people and the land, when you had little and took less, to living here where you want for nothing? I am starting to accept that Tony Stark is perhaps not a bad man but I still find him hard to understand. His values are so different, he does not seem to think of money as being something of worth, he spends it so readily..."

Bruce was relieved to hear that Wanda at least was starting to come around to Tony. He understood the dislike, the hatred even, of course he did, but living here would be easier on everyone if nobody hated anybody else. Besides, the truth about that period was that Stane had been the one in charge of exports, and although Tony should have been paying more attention, it had been his name on the missile and he carried the guilt for it, Bruce was fairly sure he wouldn't have permitted the sales if he had known. That was the difficult thing about ethical weapons manufacturing. Ethics were often a self defined thing and definitions didn't always agree. It was a relief that Tony was out of that arena now, there were so many other applications for most of the rest of the technology.

He did her the courtesy of truly considering his answer. It was always interesting to discuss Tony with people. He didn't exactly make a habit of it, but he felt a real drive to correct mistaken assumptions about the man who was now one of his best friends, and one of the best men Bruce had ever met. Of course there were some situations where Tony preferred the assumptions to stand but Bruce was fairly sure this wasn't one of them and Tony would never defend himself because he felt there was nothing worth defending.

"Tony... I think he does value money. Obviously his reference points are different from almost everyone else's on the planet because he doesn't have to think about things the same way. Everyone tends to think of money in terms of what it represents, though. For Tony it's a slightly different level. To you or me we might think of money as being food, or security, or warmth. Tony's never really had to doubt those things. His childhood was very privileged when it comes to that sort of basic need. There were a lot of things he was missing but those things were always there. So for Tony it's something different. It's not... well, saying friends implies he buys friends, which I don't think he does. I think people wanted him to buy them when he was younger, they weren't interested in him they were interested in the money and the status that going along with him meant. But now... money means things like being able to give his friends things that make them happy. It means being able to give food and safety and warmth to other people. It means the ability to change things for the better. So I don't think... I don't think he always makes the best decisions, but I don't think I have ever seen him make a selfishly motivated financial decision. He doesn't spend money for himself, he spends money on making sure the people he cares about are cared about."

Pietro looked uncertain, but Bruce supposed that was better than unconvinced. They had no reason to think kindly of Tony, it was true, but he hoped he could at least present facts in an unbiased way.

Wanda seemed to absorb everything he'd said. Bruce could see how some people would find that unnerving. He'd seen similar things before, particularly in people who were excluded from society, treated as different. Hell, he'd done it himself, it was still his first response. Things had to be absorbed in full and analysed carefully before reaction because it was the only way to be able to gauge the situation properly. You had to be able to sense whether things were safe or on the edge of turning nasty, whether people were well disposed to you or not, whether you had just committed a cultural misstep. It wasn't a pleasant dance to have to do and he was sad to see it again.

"I think I understand. It is something else to get used to though. I think we are still trying to work out what the rules are here."

Bruce nodded and sipped his tea, keeping the pace of the conversation slow. This was a situation where everyone needed time to think. The twins needed to be able to have control over what they communicated, and he needed to make sure he didn't phrase things clumsily. 

"It's just that no one will explain them." Pietro broke the silence, kicking his feet a little and staring at the floor. 

"No one will explain what?"

"The rules. We'll do what we're told but we need to know what the rules are. Sometimes it's only possible to work out whether a rule is worth obeying or not if you know what the consequence is. And we don't want it to be a surprise. It's not fair to make it a game. It's cruel. We want to know where we stand."

Bruce glanced between the two of them, surprised to hear such a speech from Pietro. They really were an interesting pair, and the dynamic between them was fascinating. Pietro was the impetuous one, the strong one, the one who would engage or run or fight, but he deferred to his sister in areas where he was not so strong, unbothered by the way she sometimes seemed to be in a different world altogether in all but body. 

"I am sorry you've been left feeling so confused. It's not a nice feeling when you don't know if every move you make or everything you say might be the wrong thing and might trigger something you weren't prepared for. I know that feeling of walking on eggshells. I think everyone here does and that's the last thing we want to be making you feel. I'm not sure exactly what the miscommunication is though. There aren't many rules, and I certainly don't think anybody is planning to punish you for anything."

"Then why should we obey the rules?"

Bruce settled back in his chair, thinking. This was an explanation he needed to get right. And it was all part of the fun of dealing with teenagers. 

"It's going to sound like a cliche, I suppose but... the rules are there for your safety. So what we're looking at is stuff like if you go out tell us where you're going and when you'll be back, so that if you're not back we have a starting point to look for you because we assume if you're not back and we haven't heard anything then you're in trouble. Also if you're considering heading to an area where there's been a lot of Hydra activity we want to make sure you're safe. I know you've left them, that's not so much about you going back, it's the fact that they're not nice people and they don't look kindly on those they class as having betrayed them. I am pretty sure they would probably feel like you fell into that category."

He took the lid off the biscuit tin and plunked it on the table, pushing it towards them both with a smile and a slight nod. 

"You can help yourselves to some." Was the aside before he continued his explanation. 

"We don't want to put you under house arrest or anything like that but you, like you said, aren't used to this culture or this place, and you're different in ways that people rarely react well to. Also Hydra don't really have a kind of culture that prepares you for interacting with people in the way you need to in order to blend in here. As you adjust more then you'll be able to do more, but that's mainly because we don't want you getting hurt, or anyone else getting hurt whether that's because something goes wrong and you can't handle it because you were never taught to, or because Hydra come after you again because we can't guarantee they won't do that."

"We're not really going to punish you for anything though, because... well, your reward for obeying the rules is that your lives are easier? For example when you start being ready to go to school, you'll get homework. Also you'll probably have a fair amount of catching up to do before you're where other students might be. You can choose to not do your homework but in the long run you are the ones who will suffer for it. It doesn't affect any of us if you don't do your homework but it will affect you. If you go out and you get lost, we will absolutely always come find you. We are not going to abandon you if you fuck up. Everyone makes mistakes especially when they're teenagers and we will not be holding it against you. We are on your side. We will fight your corner. Because all of us know what it's like to feel like you have to handle it on your own, and the world is a scary place. If something goes wrong or you're scared or you want some help or you wanna talk, you can come to literally any of us."

Bruce offered a gentle smile, trying to underscore his words by making eye contact with each of them in turn.

"My door is always open. People often come and talk to me, I enjoy listening. Sometimes they want to talk through something that's bothering them, sometimes they want advice, sometimes they just want to be around someone because it's too hard to be alone. I welcome all of these things."

"Why bring us here though? We're trouble. We're complicated and messy and a problem. I don't understand why Stark fought to bring us here. He has no reason to like us. We have no reason to like him. It's a risk to him to bring us here."

Pietro was frustrated, that much was obvious and Bruce could empathise. It did feel like game playing, it did feel like being manipulated. That sort of thing was always harder as a teenager because you were approaching the point where you were expected to behave as an adult but be treated like a child. All of the responsibility with none of the reward. It was a difficult time. 

"Well... that's a hard one. I mean, we all wanted you here, everyone who knew about you. We have pretty strong feelings about children having the chance to be children rather than being on the books of an organisation of any kind, no matter the enhancements or talents they might have. A lot of that comes from what happened to Tasha, but not all of it. We know we're probably not going to be the best parents, but kids need parents. And we don't want to be your parents exactly, we know, you have parents and they aren't replaceable. Nobody is trying to replace them. But families are a lot more than just that and we hoped we could try to be your family. To be the people in your corner looking out for your interests over whatever's easiest or the most useful for SHIELD. Because your lives are yours and not for an agency to play with just because you have powers. And in that explanation you have a little bit of Tasha, a little bit of Tony and a little bit of Steve. It's a big question but it's something that's close to all of us. We're learning just as much as you are right now and it's probably going to be a bit messy as we figure everything out but I'm sure that won't be a problem."

"Hydra separated us if we were bad." 

It was Wanda's turn to speak again, and Bruce glanced up, almost surprised. He'd been so involved in discussion with her brother, but obviously his answers had been addressed to both of them. 

"We're not going to separate you. You have your own room together and it's your space. If you want more space or privacy when you get older you can have it but we're not going to force it on you. We're not in the business of making you do things. You're obviously very smart. You can make your own choices, and we will back you. If you want advice on them or to talk things through you can do that with any of us but we're not going to separate you. It makes sense that after everything you've been through it's important for you to be together. Nobody is going to split you two up. Not while I'm around, not while any of us are around."

Wanda watched him intently, reading him, but Bruce didn't look away even under that unflinching stare. He focussed on keeping his tone even, friendly, his body language open. Hostility would do the opposite of help. After a moment she nodded, seemingly satisfied. 

"So what are the rules about food? What are we allowed to eat and when?"

"You can eat basically whatever you want, whenever you want. All the fridges are well stocked. That applies to communal stuff only. If it's in someone's quarters or it has a name on it then you can't just have it. If it's in a public space with a name on then ask, if you're in someone's quarters and they don't know you're there, you shouldn't be there and you shouldn't be snooping through their stuff. Simple as." Bruce glanced at Pietro, "We know what it's like to have an enhanced metabolism. Nobody is going to begrudge you food here. You don't have to worry about it and you don't have to go hungry and you don't have to pay for it. If you are hungry, eat. If you can make the communal meals that's a really good start but snacking is totally okay."

Wanda nodded, squeezing Pietro's hand gently. She was satisfied with that answer. It was information her brother needed more than she did but also she was content that it was verifiable. The Doctor was nice. He was trying his best and he was telling them the truth and he seemed safe and friendly. She liked him a lot. Jarvis was still her favourite of the new people though. 

"What about Soldier?"

"What about him?"

"Why is he here?"

Bruce hesitated, unsure how best to answer this question. It wasn't really his business in a lot of ways. He hadn't pried into Bucky's past before he'd come to join the tower. Of course they all knew the most basic details, but when Bucky talked it wasn't about that, and the only other person they knew who had seen him on the inside was Natasha, and she didn't talk about her past either. 

"That's... a difficult question. Would you mind me asking when you knew him?"

"Well whether we minded or not you just asked the question."

Pietro folded his arms, but Bruce focussed on remaining friendly and reasonable. The defensiveness was natural, and he was more than entitled. 

"Before. We knew him before." Wanda's eyes were wide, bright, and Bruce nodded slowly, tilting his head, wondering whether any more detail would be forthcoming. "We hadn't seen him in a while but... he was kind. It was when we first joined. He was there too. We were scared at first because he was different. Big. Dark. Scary. The uniform was not nice and he... " she waved her hands slightly, pulling a face as she struggling to find the word she wanted "...smelled? of blood. But he wasn't... like a person. He felt more like an animal. One in pain. Confused, lost, hurting, wanting it to stop. Most of the time they kept us away from him but sometimes..." she shrugged and glanced at Pietro," He was kind to us. He would step in between when they yelled at us. He slipped us food. I don't think it was extra, I think it was his food, he chose not to eat for us. We ended up sharing a cell one night and he sang lullabies to help us sleep."

"Why is he here?" Pietro asked, driving straight to the point again with all the subtlety of Tony Stark. Bruce resisted the urge to either roll his eyes or laugh. He could see that they might struggle with understanding the occasional need for tact. Pietro reminded him of a combination of Clint and Tony, and he could see the boy being a real headache until he got comfortable. Probably afterwards too but it was pretty clear he also had a heart of gold. 

"Bucky... we call him Bucky, not Soldier, because that's his name and he prefers it. It makes him sad to be called Soldier. Bucky came here because a long long time ago he was friends with Steve. He was born in the 1920s, or thereabouts and they were best friends. Steve used to be a lot smaller and he was very sick all the time and Bucky helped him, particularly because he used to pick fights with people who were about three times his size." Bruce interrupted himself and glanced at Pietro, "Do not regard him as a role model."

"Bucky enlisted to go fight in the war and Steve wanted to but he was too sick so he signed up to be experimented on, like you did a bit, because he wanted to help his country and stand up to bullies because Steve really really doesn't like bullies. Steve got big and got healthier and somehow still managed to find things three times his size to fight which is something that mystifies everyone and gives Bucky a headache. But I digress. Bucky was captured by Hydra and experimented on and we're pretty sure that was when they first treated him with the serum but it wasn't the proper serum so it didn't quite work the same way, and then when they were fighting Bucky fell off a train and everyone thought he was dead. Steve was so sad about that that he crashed a plane rather than trying to land it properly." Bruce paused for thought again, and looked back at Pietro, "Do not regard either of them as role models."

"He was found by the Russians who picked him up and experimented on him and brainwashed him and they are the ones who turned him into the Winter Soldier. They wiped away Bucky and all his memories and programmed him as a weapon. That was where he met Agent Romanoff. And then when Red Room dissolved Hydra claimed him and they started to use him instead. So for a long time he wasn't allowed to be Bucky but he was still Bucky underneath and he still had some of the instincts even if he didn't have the memories. He could still speak Engish and if he did he had a Brooklyn accent, and he told me once that in the last few years after Steve woke up but while he was still with Hydra there would be times when he was on a mission or resting or following his programming and then he would get the nagging sense that something was wrong. We can't be entirely sure but since he moved in we've become pretty sure that he has some kind of sense of when Steve is doing something stupid. Which is probably honed through years of Steve doing stupid things." he sighed softly, glancing at the boy for the third time, "He is seriously and absolutely not a role model."

"So Bucky's here because... he can't die, like Steve can't. I mean he probably could but both of them heal at an accelerated rate and he was experimented on further so it's hard to tell what the effects might be. But he escaped from Hydra like you did and he started to remember who he had been and he started to follow Steve because Steve wasn't very difficult to find because he was on the news everywhere and because he wears red, white and blue and fights with a frisbee. He knows Natasha too. So he moved in here and sometimes he fights with us but he prefers not to if he can avoid it because he did a lot of fighting and he has a lot of bad memories in his head because a lot of people hurt him and made him do bad things he didn't want to do."

"Is that why he was nice to us?"

Bruce smiled and shrugged slightly. 

"I guess it might have been? I think the people he worked for didn't really care whether the Soldier hurt children and maybe sometimes he had to, but Bucky had lots of siblings when he was young, and he had Steve, and so he didn't like hurting children. He liked to look after them. Maybe he wanted to look after you even though he couldn't really do much. But here he's Bucky not Soldier and it would be really helpful if you could remember that?"

Wanda nodded solemnly, squeezing Pietro's hand. She met Bruce's eyes. 

"We won't hurt him."

The weight she put in those four words made Bruce pause. He nodded slowly. Wanda was an old soul, and he wasn't sure whether she might always have been that way or whether it was a result of the unique powers she had developed and the fragile existence she led between everything and nothing. It was easy to overlook that they had been hurt, in some ways. Particularly Pietro who seemed determined to compensate for it by being defensive, by being alert to any threat and reacting to it. They were still children, though he had no doubt young adult would be a more accurate classification. Still, they were better placed than most to understand some of what Bucky had been through, and he was fairly confident that they wouldn't take advantage of it. 

"Thank you."

He glanced at the tea glasses and topped all three of them up, nudging the biscuit tin towards the two of them once more. 

"Please, help yourselves."

Pietro grabbed one and stuffed it whole into his mouth, picking up another one while he devoured the first. 

Wanda took one a little more decorously than her brother. 

Pietro frowned slightly, blinking as he examined biscuit number two. 

"These are nice..." He said, through the crumbs, and Bruce bit back a laugh as there was a slight shower of them, "Where did you buy them?"

"I made them. I don't make all of the ones I have here, Clint likes to bake too. Sometimes he makes me some. Steve has a good recipe too."

"Do all of you like to bake?" Wanda asked, interested, and Bruce shrugged. 

"I do. I like cooking and baking generally. Bucky and Steve cook sometimes, Clint bakes, and Thor barbeques things." He paused, "Neither Natasha nor Tony is ever allowed in the kitchen unsupervised."

"You can make these?" Pietro asked, suddenly interested, "How? Is it hard? Does it take long?"

"No... it's not hard at all, at least, I don't think so?" Bruce smiled. 

"...Could you show us?"

"I can do that... have you ever done anything like this before?"

Bruce knew it would be a difficult question to ask, bringing back memories of their family potentially. At the same time he felt it was unfair to dance around the subject and pretend they'd come from nothing. Acknowledging pain was often the first step on the road to processing it and being able to overcome it. 

Pietro shook his head slowly, and Wanda squeezed his hand, glancing at him. 

"We don't... remember a lot. I think flashes maybe. But we never did it. Is it allowed?"

"To not have done it before? Of course it is..."

"We're not too old?"

"You're never too old to learn something new." Bruce smiled and got up, crossing to the kitchen area and rummaging for three aprons, "Honestly I would be very happy to bake with you."

"...Can we make cookies?" Pietro asked, looking slightly suspicious but the prickly demeanour had very much eased. 

"We can make cookies," Bruce agreed solemnly, "And we can even put chocolate chips in them."

That seemed to be enough to seal the deal, and the twins exchanged a look then got up to join him, looking tentative but eager as Bruce handed them each an apron and began to dig out the equipment and the recipe.

He set out a bowl, a wooden spoon and a set of scales, several baking sheets and some baking paper.

Pietro and Wanda exchanged glances, then began examining the equipment. 

Bruce started digging the ingredients out. 

"So... this is a very quick and easy recipe. There are lots of different ways to make them but I think this is one of my favourites and it's very useful to have a way of doing it like this." He smiled and set out the margarine, sugar, eggs, flour, and chocolate chips. 

"Now, first of all we preheat the oven. In most places you have to actually do that yourself but here we just ask Jarvis. Preheating means you set it to the temperature and then you give it time to warm up. Usually at least five minutes. So while we wait for the oven to heat up we make the mixture. Wanda, could you please measure out six ounces of margarine and put it in the bowl?"

Wanda nodded, stepping forward and beginning to scoop out the yellow solid. 

Bruce smiled at Pietro. 

"Could you grease the trays? That's always quite fun. It stops things sticking which is very important."

He showed Pietro how to do it and let the two of them get on with it. 

"Alright, now we add eight ounces of sugar to the bowl... Pietro do you want to weigh that?"

Pietro nodded warily but stepped forward and measured out the sugar. 

"Now we need twelve ounces of flour, and four ounces of chocolate chips. The chocolate chips are easy though because they come in these packets which are the right weight already so we can just pour those straight in...."

Bruce tipped them out then gave each of the twins a 'spare' one and ate one himself with a wink. 

"Finally we add two eggs, so can each of you crack one carefully into the bowl please? No shell, we don't want the added calcium in the cookies, humans don't absorb it like that any way."

They cracked the eggs and then looked at him expectantly. 

"What happens now?"

"Now, and this is the best part about this recipe, we just mix it all together!" Bruce beamed, "Some recipes are more complicated and you have to mix things separately and in order and sometimes you have to chill the dough and things but this is just quick and easy. Then we dollop it out on the baking sheets and we bake it for about fifteen to twenty minutes or so. The oven is at gas mark 4."

Pietro looked at him suspiciously, his cheek bulging. Bruce grinned. 

"Of course the dough is pretty nice on its own but I think it's better when it's baked. That's a tough call though. Some cookie dough is definitely better raw. It's like cake batter. That's why you can get ice cream that has bits of cookie dough in it. This one is a bit more cake like than some I think."

"You can get ice cream with cookie dough in it?!"

"You can... It's Phil's favourite flavour actually, there's almost always a pint of it upstairs. I'm sure you can try some but do make sure you ask for permission first. It's not nice to take things that belong to other people without asking. And listening to the answer."

Wanda was focussed intently on making sure that the cookies were fairly portioned out. 

Bruce smiled. It was an interesting difference in approach but it encapsulated the differences in attitude between them both quite neatly. 

He put the cookies in the oven and set the kettle boiling to make a fresh pot of tea. Of course cookies were traditionally served with milk, but it was cold outside and he preferred tea when he could get away with it. 

When the timer went off Bruce showed the twins how to leave the cookies to cool, managing not to laugh at their eagerness to eat them straight away (although that was more Pietro than Wanda). The boy was unimpressed that having put the work in they had to wait, but he agreed reluctantly to cooperate. After burning his mouth on one of them. 

Half an hour later, though, the three of them were sat around the table with fresh drinks and warm cookies to eat, coupled with the satisfaction of having made them themselves. 

Neither of the twins had ever really been able to do something like that before, but the process had been a very enjoyable one, and it gave them a real sense of pride. 

The atmosphere now was very different to what it had been when they had first arrived to talk. It was less charged, less tense, and when Pepper knocked on the door rather than jumping at the interruption, the first thing Pietro did was offer her a cookie. 

Bruce didn't think he'd ever seen the two of them smile that much before and it was really something he treasured. He knew it might not last, but it happening at all was a sign that maybe the defences were coming down. Every little thing was progress, and over the years if he'd learned anything, it was that progress was still progress no matter how small.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes the cookie recipe works, it's one of my go tos.

**Author's Note:**

> I promised I'd keep Tea for Two going as long as people were interested, and somehow it got to over 100k. I'm keeping that promise by breaking it into a sequel, rather than letting it get huge and unwieldy. I hope you all continue to enjoy your monthly brew and a breather.
> 
> I also tried about five times to post this last night with repeated error messages, so yes, this does count as February!


End file.
